


Seventeen

by EliLeFey



Category: Harry Potter - Fandom
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-14
Updated: 2017-12-12
Packaged: 2018-09-17 08:32:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 41,930
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9313685
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EliLeFey/pseuds/EliLeFey
Summary: Severus is of age, his maternal grandfather comes forward and makes him heir.  Things are looking up for him and his mother, the Marauders seem to lessen their attacks as Severus becomes more popular with both Slytherin and Ravenclaws.  Beltane is coming up, will they or won't they?  Lots of torches being carried.   Hormonal insanity takes over.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I decided to bring Dr Severus Valerius into the story a little earlier. He is a high ranking official in the Society of Magic, an ancient union of academics of the celestial and magical realms.

Seventeen  
In Faerie and Terra, the age of seventeen is the age of majority. The in loco parentis laws for students are no longer in effect. They can be served whatever they like in the pubs, have no curfew so long as they obey certain standards of conduct on campus. 

Severus’s seventeenth birthday was going to be a blow out. He’d be able to drink whatever he liked, control his own money and destiny now. He was excited to see his grandfather, Severus Valerius, who was making the trip to celebrate with him, as well as turning over the title to all of his intellectual and real property. Eileen had mixed feelings. She loved her father, and knew he loved her. She had to side with her husband, and he couldn’t be a part of her father’s world. 

Severus Valerius, for his part, deeply regretted the enforced separation. They’d kept in touch with writing and pictures. He made sure that his daughter kept up her studies in magic, homeschooling Severus. Now that his namesake was of age, he could officially allow her back in his life, as the mother of his heir. The laws enforced by magical authorities were complicated. He had sent the paperwork to Cordelia, to be signed later, in Avalon, with copies filed with Athena Addington’s law firm as well as in the Druid law archives. He would be able to travel to Rome, with his mother, and as a legacy would be welcomed to the  
Magicae senatus Strega, the governing body of magic south of the Alps. This organization dealt with education more than enforcement, using the honor system. One did not want to antagonize Strega, so it was always in everyone’s best interest to treat everyone as you would wish to be treated. Banishment was the only punishment. 

Eli and her sister were kept busy driving guests to and from Hogwart’s, delivering mounts to those who wanted to ride. The professors took turns attending what turned out to be a very long lunch with Dr Valerius. He was flanked by his daughter and grandson, waited on by Emerald and Cordelia. He was aware of how Severus had been treated by the headmaster, and refused the offer of guest lecturing in a manner that was at best condescending. 

“I’d prefer to spend what little time I have in this dismally cold territory with my family, no sense wasting pearls,” he smiled. 

Minerva was disappointed. She had a great deal of respect for the scholar, had read all his books, and recommended him as a source for her advanced students. Perhaps she could hustle a dinner invitation from Cordelia. She wondered why Severus had kept his family a secret from his fellow students, perhaps it was his mother’s way of compensating for what most of her contemporaries considered bad life choices, maybe he didn’t want to be accused of bragging. She didn’t question the wisdom of the Statute of Secrecy, even though that was the main reason her affair with a muggle was doomed from the start. Still, things seemed to finally be working out for Eileen and for Severus. 

Cordelia announced at sundown that she and Dr Valerius would be returning to the Farm, turning the pub over to the younger generation, let the rock and roll play, let those of age get ripped to the tits and stoned to the bone. Takeshi got the amplifiers set up, and when Eli returned with friends, asked her to play with the band, the original songs done by his band with Tobias, dedicated to Eileen. At the end of the set, Takeshi escorted Eileen and Emerald to the Farm, along with the presents. Severus would open them later. 

Eli had given Eileen a scrying crystal orb from the mountains where the rivers that flowed into the lake originated. Emerald had created a base for it, a coiled dragon, cast in Faerie metal, holding a translucent pearl in its mouth. “It changes color, you’ll learn how to read the changes, you’re gifted as a seer, for a Terran, but then, you’ve go so much Faerie blood, no wonder you’re gifted. As you age, it gets more intense, you know,” Emerald had explained. 

Cordelia laughed at that, commenting, “That’s why the invaders targeted and daemonized the crone, since she’s too strong, knows too much. Sad how many witches and wizards buy into that codswallop.”

“Syncretism happens,” Dr Valerius said, inhaling the fumes of the flower tea Cordelia had given him, with some Avalon honey and lemons from the greenhouse, for his throat. The cold damp air always triggered sinus problems, one reason he disliked Britain. 

 

Asimov and some of his fellow Bards took the stage, jamming with the music students from Hogwarts. At about nine, since it was a school night, those students who were under 17 and did not have permission to stay past curfew were taken home by Eli, who dropped off the sleigh at the Farm and got Yojimbo, who didn’t much care for the Three Broomsticks pub, since they ‘preferred’ he stay at the back bar. He and Black Jack sipped ale and waited for Eli and Severus. 

The pub was crowded with townspeople who loved music, who seamlessly joined the party, dancing and celebrating for the pure joy of it. Severus was more intoxicated than he had ever been before, realizing that his life was getting better. He was just getting started, he wouldn’t be like some whose best years were their school years. He’d proven himself academically, his wizarding family could finally allow him to join them.

If only Lily could be with him. Intellectually, he knew that his attachment to her was dysfunctional, at least. Their friendship had been so perfect, at first. 

Severus finally realized he was just like his mother. He’d overheard her say the same thing to Emerald and Takeshi, about his father. How at first, they were each other’s everything, and how that faded away somehow. He took that to mean it was his fault, since if he hadn’t been born they could have gone their separate ways. Even though he knew his mother loved him as much as any mother could, and neither of hims parents had even hinted as much to him, he blamed himself. He’d overheard drunken mums say as much to their muggle neighborhood children, heard the curses of the fathers who felt shanghaied into supporting their offspring in a world that was making them redundant. 

He was beginning to gain some insight into his father, and himself. 

 

At midnight, Nils arrived with the sleigh. He rode the center horse in the troika hitch, and piled the by now wasted and giggling students into it, then covered them with blankets and set out under the moon to drop them off at school, with Jeanne-Marie riding behind the sleigh in case any of them fell off. 

Severus, for the first time in his life, was wasted. He’d never approved of drinking to excess, having been shamed and abused by his father under the influence. He preferred to relax with hashish, like Eli. He’d been careful to consume only Faerie intoxicants, even so, mixing mead with aqua vitae and iced aether did have a noticeable effect. He was giggling helplessly over some joke he’d heard earlier, leaning on Eli, who had sipped only mead and was more under control. The horses took them home and dumped them in the Great Hall. 

All of the presents had been placed in on the table in front of the grand fireplace, now sparkling with Faerie fire. Cordelia opened the library doors. “Your parents took Eileen home, they’ll be in London this week, your father has concert tickets for you and your friends . . . I think they are all crashed out on your floor, Eli.” 

She handed them tiny cut crystal glasses. “That should sober you up a bit, dears. Neither of you is used to drinking.”

They tossed back the shots, that tasted of last fall’s berries, and felt the pleasant fog of chemical enhancement lift enough to focus. Eli could see the family resemblance, they had the same nose, same profile, same black eyes. 

“It’s been a long time since I’ve been here,” Dr Valerius said. He was wrapped in a cashmere blanket in front of the fire in a brocade wing chair, feet propped up on a cushioned ottoman. “Your mother is very proud of her and I agree. At last we can meet face to face, I have been counting the days.” He waved his hands at the stack of documents on the table. “At some point sign these and I’ll file them with the Strega lawyers.” 

Cordelia put a blanket over Eli, who’d grabbed a pillow and stretched out in front of the fire shield, made of sheets of faceted crystal that sent rainbows of light on the hearth rug, as well as radiating the warmth of Hestia’s fire. “When you get up tomorrow you need to get started on opening the presents and getting thank you notes done. You’ve got the day off from classes tomorrow.”


	2. Chapter 2

Dr Valerius was one of Tabby’s favorite people. She doted on him, made sure he had everything he could need or want. He admitted elves as students, and encouraged the other academics to follow his example. He’d shared his daughter’s joy in how the Morgans had taken them both in, and agreed with her that it would be perfect if Severus were to pair bond with Eli. She liked him, obviously. Her face lit up when she saw him, and she made him smile. She’d turn seventeen at the Equinox. If both wanted it, they could spend the next Beltane together.

“Be patient, Eileen, remember ‘The Fountain of Fair Fortune?’ He is obsessed with the Evans girl, but she has made it clear that nothing will ever happen, he will realize that eventually. Eli chose to be his champion, he still thinks of her as a sister, since he wished that Takeshi had been his father when they met. And so did you, my dear . . . he was the one who got away. here you are, friends with his family, the exile over, just as it is with us.”

They were staying at the London flat before Dr Valerius returned to Rome. He was asked to sign books in Diagon Alley and then wanted to catch a show in Nocturne Alley that evening.

Eli and her friends were a bit groggy the next day, and spent the day with Severus in the main hall, helping Severus with his presents and get thank you cards written. This was the year when they had the most freedom, they would come of age and the courses were not particularly strenuous nor time consuming. Their last year, preparing for the NEWTS would be different.

They began planning the next birthday in their group, Alice. She was born on Candlemas. Her mother liked to take her on a trip to visit relatives and friends, but this year, since she’d legally become an adult, her absentee father was attending. Her mother told her to deal with it gracefully, no one wanted him around but he did have the legal right to attend her official coming of age ceremony, according to the old law. He’d found a very good lawyer who handled all of his divorces, one of the slimiest of shysters, but quite intelligent. He had enough inherited money to hire the best.

 

Alice got her father to book a reservation for the Friends, her mother, and four other students at the finest restaurant in Nocturne Alley, and her mother got them a block of tickets to see an opera, Kneazles, about a coven of Kneazles during a full moon ceremony. Her father got the an entire box to themselves, so she could invite a dozen friends, in addition to the ‘usual suspects’ she invited Cordelia, Eileen, Emerald and Takeshi, along with Regulus and George. Cordelia had the elves bring out the jewel collections to decide what they would borrow for the evening, a night at the opera then a pub crawl.

As they were processing the letters they discussed what they would wear and Cordelia told them about the magical properties of the various pieces of regaliaand how different people attracted different gems.

“Alice is all pearls, all colors of pearls but especially white pearls … you need a moonstone and diamond head piece, I think . . . Eli, you wear the emeralds, with a purple velvet sheath . . . Vivienne in sapphires, in silver satin . . . Eleutheria, you must wear the amethyst set, the corona, necklace, arm bands, the works, over a mauve silk sarong, floor length . . . Severus, aren’t you glad you’re male? Don’t have to lug around all the metal and rocks. But you will wear this gold chain with the dragon over your vest, I think silk ascot, flowing down . . .”

They spent the day finishing the notes, on charmed rice paper, by dinner time. Cordelia folded the them into cranes that appeared above the head of the recipient, then fluttered down in a burst of song. When opened and read, the note turned into a shower of glittering snowflakes that evaporated as they touched the table.

Quistis Trepe, Selphie Tilmitt, Laguna Loire, and Irvine Kinneas at the Gryffindor table got the letters, and were wearing their snowflake necklaces outside their shirts. They were musicians, already started a band called Final Fantasy. They’d never cared much about school politics or their own popularity within the house. Kinneas had even told Sirius to shut his gob when he was making some nasty comments about Eli and Severus. They’d been going with Eli and the Friends to concerts in London and Edinburgh, and currently learning from some of the Avalon bards, working on a crossover sound.

Lily was pleased with how things were working out. Severus was coming into his own, he’d helped her land James by creating a rivalry, and James had to win every game he played. The trick was to let him think he’d won, not her. It was working. She and Eli understood each other without having to talk about it much. She was concerned about Sirius’s manic episodes, so was Remus, but right now, she was focused on James. She’d be seventeen herself later this month. Her girlfriends rented a cottage near the dock in Hogsmeade for a private party.

Remus was overwhelmed. Sirius was getting out of control more often. He was drinking far too much, was often vicious to his friends, lashing out at his brother when they crossed paths. He’d relied on Lily to keep the Marauders under some sort of restraint, and she had tamed James to a remarkable degree, which seemed to make Sirius that much more mutinous and destructive. His pranks on younger students weren’t very funny to the targets. Even Minerva was getting tired of his antics.

Sirius had turned 17 in November, coming into some trust funds his mother couldn’t block, and had found a flat in Nocturne Alley for weekends. They’d spent the midwinter break there. He boldly went to and from the castle, knowing he would not be challenged by anyone. He liked having his own money, and lots of it. He could finally help Remus out.

Rock and roll, hoochie koo  
Eli was taking a light class load, so that she could have more time to tutor other students in Runes, work in the music studio, as well as trips to see rock and roll shows in Scotland, Britain, Wales, and Ireland, with Professor Flitwick’s approval. They avoided the large venues and the big acts, instead focusing on new talent recommended by the promoters. Takeshi always had tickets from the bands he was working with in the studio. Eli and her friends were mostly following the blues rockers, especially the Americans like Johnny Winter, not to mention the Chicago blues artists who toured Britain.

The students explored the magical districts throughout Scotland and Britain, beginning to realize that they would be on their own soon, would be able to get a job and their own place. Some preferred to small, hidden villages, some the secret sectors in Muggle urban centers.

This year Eli invited her school friends with her to her birth celebration, ordinarily a private affair shared only with those who were present at the birth until age 17. She was born in the hour of the tiger on the Equinox.

 

Eli presented her mother with a vial of crystallized tears, a traditional gift when a child came of age. The vial was itself a thing of great beauty, carved from a amethyst crystal, with a pearl stopper, filled with the tiny sparks created by the tears, all she had shed since age 12, except for those she gave to Severus on his last birthday.

On the 17th birthday, close friends and the expanded family were invited, to demonstrate how the circle of friends and family was expanding, and the mother’s work socializing her child was over, and the child was now a full member of the community.

The party would start at the hour of the tiger, the middle of the night, with music and food in the main room of the Mother’s Temple. This was one of the few times when non mothers were allowed in their space, considered to be among the most beautiful spaces in Avalon.

Takeshi and several Bards played for Emerald, who sat in the seat of honor at the high altar, her daughters flanking her, Jeanne-Marie wearing blood red rubies and a tight black robe. Emerald wore robes of translucent fabric that shimmered with prisms when the light struck her.

“I remember when you were born, you kept us up all night. I knew you’d be a tiger, and your animagus was adorable,” Emerald said. With the Fey, the animagus manifested after the patronus first appeared. “Your dragon showed up when your father carried you to the window to watch the sun rise. One of the cats cuddled up with you in your crib and you immediately went animagus, just the cutest little tiger cub, see the picture?” Emerald pointed to a picture in an old fashioned photo album. “It was the first sign you had a destiny, when your animagus was the same as the hour of birth. A Blue Tiger.”


	3. Eli's first kiss

Eli’s First Kiss

The ability to use magic doesn’t prevent viral infections, and at the beginning of April, many of the students were suffering from respiratory ailments partially alleviated by potions. Only Eli and Eleutheria felt well enough to go see Rory Gallagher in London that Wednesday. They took the floo to the Whitehall flat, where they found the tickets and a note from Takeshi, informing them that he couldn’t make it, he had a meeting out of town and he and Aeron would not be back before midnight, so he left them enough money to pay for cab fare. 

They went into the kitchen to get some food and smoke some hash. 

“Alice said you got her and Frank an invitation to the Hillgate Beltane party. I’d ask you for an invitation, but you’ll never guess, remember that boy we met a couple of years ago, near the Mt Shasta Faeriegate?”

“Yeah, he was a lot of fun going to those concerts up and down the coast with his older brother and sister.”

“He sent me a formal invitation to the Mountain Beltane Gathering . . . I’m going. I wouldn’t want to marry him or anything like that, but he’s perfect for the First Beltane, he sure is gorgeous, isn’t he? Plus he knows what he’s doing, he was there last year.’

Eli got up and left the kitchen. “Come on, let’s go, wanna walk to the river and get some fish and chips on the way?’

Eleutheria knew Eli wanted to change the subject. She hadn’t mentioned anything about her plans. Everyone assumed she and Severus would connect, but neither was talking about it. She’d asked Severus if he was looking forward to the party, and he abruptly turned and walked away without a word. 

Not everyone who was of legal age attended those rites, you had to be called to it, and many waited until later. Sometimes it was because they hadn’t met anyone they wished to have for their first connection, were waiting for someone not available for whatever reason. Waiting and continence were a way of building up the force, to the point of psychic conflagration. It’s said that is the origin of the first Beltane fire, two lovers kept apart whose sexual energy built to the point that they turned into a fire of desire, ‘the flame of love’ as Uma of San Francisco put it.

Or maybe Severus was fool enough to still carry a torch for that Lily Evans, who had been weaving her web of love for James Potter since the day they met?

She certainly wasn’t going to ask either of them for an answer to that burning question.

They stopped at their favorite shop, sat outside in the gloaming, inhaling hash vapors after Eli had pulled down a shadow to disguise their presence. She was trying to teach the spell to her friends, but it was difficult for a Terran to learn it, since they didn’t learn body magic. Vivienne could pull down a partial shadow with a spell she’d figured out with her wand. They flagged a cab and got to the venue quickly, turning over the unused tickets in the box office with a note explaining the circumstances from Takeshi, to be given away or sold. They got to their seats early, and were spotted by Donal Gallagher who handed them all access tickets and told them Rory wanted to say hello. 

“Two little schoolgirls alone in the City, we’ll keep an eye on you for your father, he said. 

Rory greeted them, hugging Eli, ‘I missed your birthday, can I take you and Eleutheria out after the show?”

“Sure, we don’t have to get back to school until tomorrow curfew, we took the tests early because we never got sick, they had to postpone the midterms.”

Rory flirted with Eli, using many Gaelic terms of endearment, and was charmed when Eli did the same to him. ‘Where did you learn to speak like that?.” He asked her. 

She smiled at him. “I’m good with languages, I do a lot of research and you have to learn the language of the original source.” 

 

Eleutheria rolled her eyes, as did Gerry. She noticed the same expression on his face as she had, and said to him quietly, “Could you come along so I have someone to talk to?” 

He laughed and nodded. It was a standing joke, how Eli was fixated on Rory since the first time she’d met him. They all were both respectful and somewhat fearful of Takeshi. The theory was that he had something to do with MI5, or some clandestine organization, explaining his absences and sudden appearances, especially on the Continent and Japan. Rory loved detective stories, especially Dashill Hammet, and spun a tale of intrigue and mystery about the man who had been such an inspiration to him. 

None of them were willing to risk Takeshi’s displeasure by misusing his daughter. HANDS OFF. At least until she was old enough to make her own decisions. She’d have to make the first move. 

 

The performance was excellent, as all of Rory’s concerts. He dedicated a song to her, in honor of her birthday. Eleutheria thought to herself that Severus better not wait too long to declare himself. You didn’t have to understand mentalics to understand his feelings, not if you watched him, the look on his face when he gazed at her was unmistakable. Maybe he was keeping her as backup in case he ever gave up on that lost cause, Lily Evans? She didn’t think that Eli would invite him to a Beltane party, it would be a bit much, since he didn’t know what she was, or what Beltane meant to her clan. Although he was Irish, and like those of that island, had a sense for magic. He knew something was different about Eli, her mother and sister. 

After signing autographs for the fans at the stage door, Rory, Gerry, Eli and Eleutheria set off on foot for a place a few blocks away. They’d catch a cab and go to Whitehall and then drop off the men. 

They were about a block and a half from the restaurant when Eli went into high alert. She’d heard a woman screaming in rage, from an alley across the street. She dashed across the street and down the alley, followed by Eleutheria, the two men trailing behind the women. 

Eleutheria had felt the psychic call for help, something that was part of every woman’s DNA, a call to defend a sister. She saw that Eli had within a few seconds controlled the situation. A woman with long red hair was on the ground, her jeans partially pulled down. Her mouth was bloody, and her coat torn. One of the men was lying on his side, blood dripping from his mouth and nose, his legs and arms twitching and his breathing was labored. 

Eleutheria went to the girl and put her coat around her, helping her to her feet, while Eli kicked one of the men in the solar plexus hard enough to double him over, retching, and she grabbed the third man, slamming him up against the wall. She grabbed he dogtags with one hand and ripped them off. Gerry got to the alleyway, and stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Eli leaning over the two on the ground, yanked off their dogtags, snarling at them, as the one slumped against the wall tried to crawl away down the alley. 

“you dishonor your nation, you dishonor the veterans, you dishonor your leaders, you don’t deserve to be soldiers. I shall return these to your C O with a letter explaining how and where I got them.’

Rory stared at her, dashed up to her and put his arm around her. “We’d better get out of here, now,’ he said in her ear, dragging her out with him. Eleutheria was at the curb, having summoned a cab where she had placed the girl, shoved Gerry in it, leaped in and Rory shoved Eli inside and pushed in next to her. Eli told him to drive them to Whitehall, after silently charming him not to notice the girl. She told him to let them off at a small lane he’d never noticed before, nor ever see again. She gave him all of the money she had, charming it so that he would not have any memory of picking them up near the alley, in case the police investigated the incident. If the girl reported it, there might be an inquiry, but since the perpetrators were American servicemen, it would not result in any action by British authority, but would result in courts-martial and dishonorable discharges after a stint in Leavenworth. 

 

They walked to the entrance to a coffeehouse, warm and inviting, and took a table near the fireplace. Eli took the girl to the restroom as the waiter came to the table, and Eleutheria picked up the girl’s torn coat, rummaged in her bag for a sewing kit, and began to repair it. 

“Hi, Eleutheria,’ the waiter greeted her. “And you brought us Rory?” He set down a plate of pastries, coffee cups, saucers, spoons, sugar and cream. He pointed to a chalkboard with the day’s specials. 

“Yeah, well we kinda had an incident . . . can I use your phone?” She dialed Aeron’s number. He picked up immediately. Eleutheria told him that there’d been an incident and could he drive Rory and Gerry home after they’d gotten some food? 

She returned to the booth near the fireplace and sat next to Gerry. 

 

Eli cleaned the red haired girl, who introduced herself as Gael Garrity after Eli had introduced herself. “I saw those arseholes at the concert . . .” as she rinsed her mouth and spat out the blood she’d gotten when she bit the first man’s hand. She managed to tear open a good sized wound on his hand, when she screamed like a banshee while he howled in pain, and that was the sound Eli responded to. ‘The the other two grabbed me and I was kicking and screaming when you showed up, and you kicked the one holding my legs . .. where did you learn how to fight like that? The one you hit with the rusty pipe, I hope you killed him . . .N íl Tada Níos Measa Na Bód Ina Seasamh. 

And then the other girl dragged me to the cab, and there he was, Rory himself!” 

‘I;m just glad we were there to help you. They are well and truly fucked, did you know that they can be hanged for rape in the military? That is, if the Commanding Officer wants to filed charges, lots of times they cover up this sort of thing,” Eli said, as she dug in her bag for some face powder and soothing lotion for the girl’s abrasions. “It might be better for them if I hurt them so they’d be given a less than honorable discharge … and since they were injured off duty so they don’t have to pay a medical pension.”

“No sense reporting it, then,” Gael said. “Word might get out back home and someone’d dump me in a magdalen home . . . not that I’m going back. It’s no country for independent women, with the church in charge.”

“No shit. Let’s go get something to eat.” 

“is there a phone I can use?” Eli directed her to the waiter standing near the kitchen door. 

 

Gael joined them at the booth, sitting next to Rory, Eli on his other side. Ariadne, who was in charge of the night baking, came out to meet Rory, with what looked like a Polaroid camera. She introduced herself and asked for a picture of the group, to put up on the wall with other customers. Rory noticed one autographed by Takeshi and Tobias, before the band broke up.

“How long has this place been here?” Gerry asked. 

“oh, literally ages ago,” Ariadne said. “It was a bakery for at least 700 years, then added coffee and built this room, one of the first coffeehouses in London, they say.” She snapped a picture, saying, “The next time you’re here I’ll have an enlargement you can sign,” and went back to the kitchen. The aroma of baking breads, cakes, and pastries wafted into room. The picture was a form a magic that would allow those in it to return, including Muggles. This was one of the few places left that allowed ‘mingling’ of muggle and magi, like the mansion where Takeshi had his flat. 

Aeron drove the limo out of the garage door, which was across the alley from the coffee shop. He parked just past the door and went in for some coffee and pizza, which was ready when he pulled a chair up to the table. Arthur, the waiter, had already presented the table with chips, various dipping sauces, vegetable tempura, as well as scones still warm from the oven, with chocolate chip biscotti. 

Gael was from Ballyshannon and adored Rory. “My room mates can’t believe it, eating with Rory! I didn’t tell them about the incident, just that I’d met you and some friends . … they were worried about me going alone, but no one else could afford a ticket, we’re all students you see, and I’ve gone out by myself before, just my bad luck I suppose, wrong place at the wrong time,”

“It ended well,” Rory said, taking her hand. He took out his wallet, removed a card, and wrote on the back of it. He handed her the pen and a small notebook. ‘Give me your name and I’ll leave tickets for you and a friend, next time I’m in London. Gael from Ballyshannon, with the red hair.” 

 

Gerry was disturbed by what he’d seen. Those soldiers were messed up bad …. He’d seen his share of street brawls but never anything like this. Eli had disappeared around the corner and up the dark alley before he’d had time to register anything was wrong. By the time he and Rory caught up with Eleutheria, the fight was over. There was a bloodied, rusty length of pipe next to the prone body of a large man, dressed in jeans and a wool jacket. He was bleeding from the mouth. A second man was holding an arm that looked to be badly broken, whimpering in pain. Eli had the third man slammed up against a loading dock, snarling at him. She yanked the dog tags from his neck asAs she tossed him to the ground, landing a kick in the groin as she looked up at Gerry, her eyes like nothing he’d ever seen before, like the morrigan, some ancient battle goddess. 

Eleutheria helped the red haired girl up, grabbed Gerry with her other hand, and whistled loud enough to attract a cab, shoved him in, then the girl, as Rory came out of the alleyway with his arm around Eli, whispering in her ear. What the hell was that chick, anyway? Whatever she was, he didn’t want to get too close to her. Sure, the jerks had it coming, still . . . and to think he and Rory thought she needed protecting, he thought with amusement. Probably learned martial arts from her dad. 

 

Rory was enthralled by Eli. When he saw her throwing the man to the ground, her eyes met his, and something flashed down his spine. He’d seen the Morrigan herself! She wasn’t a kid anymore, she was filling out, maybe not as ethereally beautiful as her mother or sister, but she fit in with his life better. Jeanne-Marie always looked like a slumming angel when she went to his performances, Eli was more, well, down to earth, comfortable in jeans and running shoes. 

Was this love? Funny how he could sing about something he didn’t really understand. Did anyone really know what love is?   
What about that kid, Severus, what was going on with them? He remembered how confusing things got at that age. At first he thought they were brother and sister, he wondered if he shouldn’t step back and give the kid a chance, or let Eli make up her own mind. 

They stopped at Gael’s place, where her roommates were waiting with copies of Rory’s records, so he and Gerry got out, chatted with the fans as they signed the album covers. Eleutheria was teasing Eli about being “seventeen and never been kissed” as the two men got back in the limo, Gerry sitting next to her and Rory next to Eli, who blushed when she met his eyes, elbowing her friend, muttering ‘shut up already’ under her breath. 

He put his arm around Eli, smiling at her, his blue eyes shining under lowered lids. 

“Is that true, my moonchild?” He took her head in his hand, leaned over and gently kissed her on the lips. “Not anymore,” he whispered. “You need practice.” For the rest of the ride, that is what they did.

Gerry was appalled. She was a kid. Way too young. And he didn’t want to piss off Takeshi. She was something he wasn’t prepared to deal with. The look on her face as she stomped those soldiers … you wouldn’t want her to get angry with you. On the other hand, she’d be someone who’d be handy in a crisis, nice to have someone who can fight like that at your back. 

Eleutheria was worried. She knew that Severus was conflicted in his desires, he still pursued Lily, even though she’d made it more than clear that she wanted no contact with him. The two women avoided each other in the dorm, Eleutheria was spending more and more time out of the dorm anyway. Her birthday was in August, she always had a big bash in San Francisco, this year was no exception. She’d been given her ‘right of free access’ for the entire term. 

There was a certain inevitability between Eli and Severus, obvious to everyone but the two of them, it seems. He’d better make his move before Rory did.


	4. Alice's Party

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alice Addington is the next of the Friends to turn 17.

Seventeen/Ch3/PubCrawl

Alice and her mother decided to tough it out and just ignore her father, he had to be included in the official ceremony, traditional in Athena’s family, when a girl comes of age, which was one of the reasons that everyone was getting completely dressed up, overdressed, in fact. They were going to the Opera, after all. Take that, babydaddy, your little girl did better without you in her life.

The Opera House in Nocturne Alley was one of the most magnificent structures in all of the magical world. The audience was expected to be on display, and Cordelia decided to pull out all of the stops. 

They congregated at the London flat before setting out. Cordelia would meet them at the opera; she couldn’t tolerate Alice’s father any more than Athena could. She and Alice would be sitting in the first box, with the director and artistes, all friends of hers. The adults, without him, would return to the flat after the opera while Alice and her friends went out drinking. Cordelia extended an invitation to them to her party at the Whitehall flat after the performance. 

All of the men were in formal evening wear, and all of the girls sparkled with gems, and Cordelia looked like an empress in a brocade gown, full length gloves, with diamonds on her head, neck, arms, and fingers. Deliberately over the top, since part of the fun of the opera is being seen, and if you’re sitting in a box, it was expected that you be as glam as you can. Athena wore an evening suit of midnight blue satin, with aquamarine earrings and necklace. 

They all piled into the limo, with Cordelia and Athena in the front seat with Aeron. “I wish I could go with you backstage at the Opera House, I have to sit through dinner with that dreadful ex husband. I don’t know what I was thinking when I married him. You Morgan ladies have the right idea. See you later,” Athena said as they dropped Cordelia off at the backstage entrance. They went to a restaurant down the block, to meet Alice’s father and his family, his latest family that is. 

The less said of him, his dreadful family, and the excruciating dinner, the better. 

 

The opera was excellent. Cordelia invited the cast to the Whitehall flat for an after performance informal party, while Alice and her friends who were of age would stop at some pubs first. Eli and Severus volunteered to stay alert and keep an eye on the others. Eli wasn’t quite seventeen, and Severus didn’t like to be incapacitated in public. Frank was along, everyone felt safer when he was there to keep watch. 

The group went into the first pub they saw, sat down, and ordered a round of aqua vitae with pomegranate juice chasers. Alice opened her bag and pulled out a rolled parchment, untied the ribbon holding it closed, and opened it up. It was the official transfer of the money her father put in trust when Athena left him, due to his chronic infidelity. He was ordered by the arbitrator to put a certain percentage of his income every year in a trust, and he’d done well financially. 

“Maybe your mother will think I’m good enough for you now,” Alice said to Frank. 

“So, where to next?” Frank said. 

“How about The Two Wizards?” Eli responded.

“I thought that was . . . you know . . .”

“Everyone’s welcome there, it’s not like the Bear and Otter Pub, or the Raging Queen.”

They went to the pub, where some classmates of theirs greeted them and insisted on treating the birthday girl to a drink, which turned into several drinks. It was a great place, with a dance floor, a loft, and a back room for those who want some more intimate entertainment. 

Alice insisted on going to the flat, “It’s my birthday, I want to meet those singers, we can come back and drink some more another night. Eli, can you summon Aeron to pick us up?” 

Eli signaled Aeron and within a minute, the limo picked them up, returning to Whitehall where the party was going on. 

“Ah, here’s the birthday girl,” Cordelia said as they entered the flat. The girls went to the master bedroom to take off the jewelry they had on. All of them except Eli were blitzed already and now they wanted some of that Avalon mead. 

Athena was seated on the sofa in front of the fire. Eli and Severus sat with her, presenting her with the traditional Faerie gift to the mother on the birthday. It was a communication orb and a portal to connect her to the Avalon Druids and the library, for both her home and her office. Reform was coming to the Wizengamot but it proceeded at a glacial pace. This device gave her access to records and documents in virtually all legal systems, past and present, on Terra, as well as Avalon. 

Alice gave her a charmed locket, decorated with a gem studded sigil, which opened to profiles of her and her mother facing each other, three dimensional images and came to life when the locket was opened. 

Frank had commissioned Emerald to make a bracelet of Faerie metal set with aquamarines, engraved with Alice’s date of birth, and today’s date, on the inside. 

Athena liked Frank, but was a bit worried; she didn’t want Alice to make the same mistake she did and marry her first serious romance. Even though he was nothing like Alice’s father. Frank was a Ravenclaw swot, with charming manners, an excellent scholar, and already working with the Aurors. His mother, on the other hand, was not one of her favorite people. They’d met in school, where Augusta was the Ravenclaw prefect, in her fifth year, when Athena first came to Hogwarts and was sorted into Ravenclaw. 

Athena made the mistake of laughing when some of the girls were gossiping about how she’d never get a ring, hadn’t been asked to any of the dances. From that day on, all of the girls in the group were marked, and they rejoiced when she graduated. They were wrong; Augusta married an older, very wealthy, dealer of spirits and intoxicants, not long after graduation. When Augusta was pregnant with Frank, her husband died during a tropical storm and flash flood when he was seeking out the Yanomami shaman for samples of yopo, which he thought might have some application to his trade. 

Augusta proved more than capable of raising her son as well as running the business.

After the artistes left, Cordelia floo’d back to the Farm, and the Friends gathered in front of the fire. 

“You’re next, what have you got planned?” Alice asked Eli.

“We go to Avalon and have a party for my mother, to celebrate that I am an adult. It’s the only time I can invite guests, friends and family, and of course all of you have to be there.” 

“What do we bring for your mother?” Alice asked.

“Your favorite memories of me.”

 

By dawn they had sobered up enough to return to Hogwarts and Aeron drove them back in time to change into their robes and get to class, and Frank got cleaned up and to his cubicle in the Ministry at his usual time.


	5. Moonchild

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rory Gallagher talks to Takeshi about his daughter. Every teen girl's fantasy, to be kissed in the back of a limo by your favorite rock star, for your first kiss.

Eleutheria had to shake Eli by the shoulders after Rory left the limo. She was recalling the feeling of his soft lips on hers, his calloused fingers stroking her short hair and face, how she shivered when he gently stroked her neck.

“Where to? Whitehall or back to the Farm?”

“The Farm, I don’t want to wake up Father … I know I have to tell him what happened, I’ll leave a message for him to call me on the mirror. I want to charm these tags and get them back to the base.”

“So you got your first kiss from Rory . .. I remember the first time we saw him and you had the same goofy look on your face. You gonna ask him to Beltane?”

‘You know I can’t ask a Terran and besides … it would be too much for him at once, the whole concept of what I am and I’d have to get informed consent.”

“So what are you going to do to the tags?”

“Hmmm. I think I should ask Father if he has any recommendations. Hey, Aeron, feel free to tell Father everything, tell him to mirror me when he can.”

The two girls spent the ride to the Farm smoking hash and listening to Rory’s latest album. They went to the loft and Eli got on her communication tablet, accessing Terran military records. She found out that the three men were on leave from their base in Germany, and that their commanding officer was a hard case, a devout Roman Catholic, which made her spellcraft a lot easier. She could invoke Michael and Ignatius, send them to the general’s dreams. She engraved a brown candle with the insignia of the Judge Advocate General, a crossed quill and sword. She loved that symbolism. She put the dogtags in an obsidian bowl on her altar, with a miniature sword and ostrich feather quill crossed over it. A simple candle spell should do it; one never wanted to unleash strong magic against the uninitiated.

Which made her think of Rory. How could she possibly tell him? There was just too much to explain; he’d be likely to think she was completely mad before he’d believe her. She thought a about his soft lips against hers, the taste of whiskey in his mouth, his calloused fingers stroking her hair, face, her neck. She learned how to kiss quickly, enjoying his lessons immensely.

Eleutheria knew Eli and Severus well enough to know not to mention what happened in the limo to him. If she wanted him to know she’d tell him. He knew how she felt about Rory, her first rock and roll fantasy romance. What he didn’t understand is that with the Fey, it was immoral, unethical, and unconscionable to make the first move on a Terran. It wasn’t fair. At least now she knew how to kiss someone properly; Eleutheria knew what the first kiss was like, having received hers not so very long ago. It struck her that none of their group discussed boys, unlike the girls in the dorm, that was all they discussed, it was boring.

 

“I can get you and your family and Eli’s pals tickets front row at the Rolling Stones concert,” said the man in the suit at the studio.

“No thanks, the ladies in my family, especially Eli, hate the Rolling Stones and I shall be out of town at that time, thanks for thinking of us.’ Takeshi smiled and turned back to show Rory a lick he’d learned some time ago in Chicago.

“I thought all the girls loved Mick Jagger,” the man replied.

“No, Eli is quite adamant in her dislike of him in particular, the lyrics are entirely disrespectful to women, and my daughters both expressed something beyond disgust at his appearance.”

Rory smiled. His moonchild, his personal morrigan, didn’t take shit from anyone. He remembered the night she met, she stared at him with an unmistakable expression. He knew he was very good looking, but he didn’t flaunt it. He agreed with her assessment of certain bands and their reliance on costumes and stage effects, and letting the music slack off. The music was what mattered. He had to be with his people, those who inspired him to keep touring, life on the road was so hard in so many ways.

Takeshi helped record a song, after a few hours they decided to take a meal break. Rory invited Takeshi to come with him, and the other musicians smirked a bit. Everyone had heard what happened in the back of the limo. Eli’s first kiss. Why not start with the best? No one begrudged him his female fans, they knew he was very attractive to the ladies, but didn’t make a big deal about it. Which made him even more attractive. Sure, he had his faults, but you couldn’t deny the talent he had. He made you work harder. The life on the road took its toll, but the energy from the audience made up for it.

“This is about last night, Aeron gave me a report, you know he’s a writer and he’ll probably use it as a scene in a novel. I am so glad her first kiss was with someone like you. She has excellent taste.”

“I don’t know what came over me. I couldn’t stop kissing her.”

Takeshi grinned. “Why do you think I gave up all the rock and roll superstar life to be with her mother? Emerald couldn’t be with me on the road, and I loved her, her family, everything. I get back here a lot, I have to stay in touch with my family in Scotland and Japan, and I like being able to work out my own music, I can always find a place to share the music, so I love my life. Why not? If this wasn’t the life I wanted, I would not be doing it, eh? You’re Emerald’s favorite guitar player after me, and she wishes she could go to more performances, but she has her family obligations.”

 

They went to a pub down the block that had booths in the back, and sat in the far corner. After ordering the day’s special and a couple of pints, Rory cleared his throat.

  
“I know she’s very young, too young to make any sort of commitment. And you know the life I lead. Last night, after the show, when she destroyed those three soldiers, they were lying on the ground, bleeding, she looked up like a tigress from her kill, her eyes flashing, it felt like . . . I can’t explain it, but I guess you may have felt the same with your lady.”

 

Takeshi nodded. “She gifted in the martial arts, and to please my mother she has been trained since an early age. It can be useful, girls have to be able to take care of themselves, look what that poor Gael went through. From Ballyshannon, I hear, she’s a homegirl. She’d be the first to tell you that stealth and speed can overcome superior power every time. She got the drop on them, found a suitable weapon, attacked without warning.”

 

“Like a ninja. My Lady Ninja, how do you say that in Japanese . . . so I can’t take advantage of her because she’d leave me bleeding on the ground.”

 

“Just don’t let her get serious about you, Rory, let Severus have a chance at her. He’s confused, doesn’t know his own mind yet. She’ll be out of school next year and by then she may know her own mind! You are her first crush. You know how young girls are, I see them around you all the time, I had my share. You fulfilled a fantasy for her most girls don’t get, and if any girl can take care of herself, it’s Eli.”

 

Rory laughed. “Gerry was threatening to call the cops on her, he thought she killed at least one of them, Donal got him calmed down and he realized if she had she did the world a favor. I think he’s terrified of her now.”

 

“She’s bringing some music students from her school on the 22nd, they love your records. So she won’t have a chance to run off you with you even if she wants to. Her first kiss, quite a moment for everyone,” Takeshi said with a sigh. “I remember my first kiss, it was Eileen, on my 17th birthday. Don’t look at me that way we never did get together, not that I didn’t want to, but I was waiting for Emerald, I met her when I was 13 and that was it. Eileen knew about her, of course we were best pals at school. If I hadn’t met my lady things might have worked out differently.”

 

Takeshi yawned. “I need to get some rest, got to get all my paperwork done before I have to leave next week. I’ll track you down when I get back. Don’t let my daughter break your heart.”

 

 

Rory thought to himself, ya gotta suffer if ya wanna sing the blues. He remembered the first time he heard Takeshi play, with The Blind Pig Blues Band, with two lead guitars. Takeshi was more elegant, controlled; Tobias was more emotional, grittier, and when they played together, it was magic. Rory tried to split the difference between the two. Emerald had been Takeshi’s muse, as Eileen was Tobias’s. it was a pity that Tobias quit music, he’d been rock and rolling harder than anyone in the day, at least as good as anyone now. Rory liked Severus a lot, he was smart, well-spoken, interesting to talk to, and they shared a love of literature. He’d introduced Severus to the works of Dashiell Hammet, wishing he’d had a time machine to go to San Francisco when the men wore hats and trenchcoats as the foghorns moaned in the mists. He didn’t want to get in the kid’s way, of course. But maybe if Severus thought he had a real rival, he’d declare himself.

Where was he in this shadowplay?  Stay tuned.


	6. Not everyone goes to their first Beltane

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Severus is unable to act on his impulses, still can't let go of Lily, so his subconscious takes over and sends his astral body to Eli. The reason that the 'junior year' tends to be the lightest in coursework is to accommodate the urges of the flesh.

Eli got permission to bring the Final Fantasy band members to the concert on the 22nd, along with Severus, Alice, Vivienne, and Eleutheria. All of them wore his tour Tshirts Eli had loaned them, and were overjoyed to meet Rory.

Rory wondered to himself why all of Eli’s friends had such strange names when they were introduced. He noticed that Severus and Eli were at each other’s side, and that Eleutheria and Gerry were laughing together about something. Gerry liked the outspoken California girl, she knew the San Francisco music scene pretty well. Eli and Severus seemed the same, she was always on his left hand side, they leaned into each other and smiled. Whatever bond there was between them, it was strong. 

 

The concert was great, Rory was incapable of a bad performance. They’d decided to return to Hogwarts immediately afterwards in the limo. Eli had stocked the bar with enough to get them wasted on the ride, and so they did. They went to the Farm, to the kitchen to get some food. There was always something cooking, someone there, the communal space where all the residents congregated informally. 

They went to Eli’s loft, grabbed futons and pillows, smoked hash and played music for a while. Eli and Severus slept next to her hearth, the Final Fantasy 4 commandeered the bed, closing the curtains so they could work on some ideas inspired by Rory. The next birthday was Vivienne’s, on April 29th. Final Fantasy was playing at the Hogshead’s and they were all going, with Asimov le Fey as her date. They would go to Avalon after the show, and spend the weekend, Vivienne’s first Beltane in Avalon. Fans of the FF4 in Gryffindor, the house ‘scrubs’ as well as Vivienne’s friends in Ravensclaw would be there, and no underage were allowed in without escort. 

The band would be playing on a stage built over the dock, in the back lot of the pub near the lakeshore. There was a lovely view of Hogwarts, and Cordelia had been after Abeford for years to fix up the back lot, put in a patio. The goats kept the brush clear, and the thick rock walls on either side of the lot formed a natural bandshell. 

Abe hadn’t used the dock in years, and wanted to have Takeshi and his pickup band play, he missed listening to him when he was growing up. With Beltane coming up, he was expecting a full house. He liked these kids, and he found out when they rehearsed on the new stage, so did the merpeople, they flocked to the shore, watching from rocks, and singing underwater with the music. He booked the band for the entire weekend. 

Takeshi and Emerald were going to be in Avalon for the weekend, while Eileen and Tobias stayed in the London flat, with tickets to every event they might want to see. Tobias remembered the coffeehouse with great fondness, their late night food runs were some of his favorite memories from when the band was still forming. 

 

No one paid much attention to their classes that week. By Friday, everyone over 17 was getting ready to head to some sort of party area. Sirius and Remus were going to Sirius’s flat over Nocturne Alley where there was no shortage of celebrations that Beltane weekend. Sirius got a new evening robe for Remus, in a shimmering midnight blue, that glowed from within. He made Remus wear the sheerest of white shirt and pants, that flowed like a caress over his body. 

Sirius was wearing black kidskin, a sleeveless top that laced up the front with low riding pants of the same leather, which he wet down so it would fit perfectly to every contour of his physique. The trousers laced up the fly, fastened at the top with a charm in the form of a silver phallus. He had silver armbands around his biceps and silver cuffs over his wrists. Around his neck was a heavy silver curb chain. He wore his motorcycle jacket open, as the two went out to see who was cruising the alley that night. The party would go on from Friday night until sometime on Sunday, this was the time when everyone paraded what they had and found out who was available for what. 

He and Remus were just looking. Sirius would not allow anyone to touch his man. “Take your dog for a walk,” he breathed in Remus’s ear. “I won’t let anyone near you.” 

“Down, boy, save it for later,” Remus said, slapping Sirius’s butt. They went out into the night.   
Turn to Page 394

 

It was warm that night all over Scotland and Britain. Everyone of age was out, going somewhere, doing something, and it was easy for Eli and Severus to get lost in the crowds and apparate home alone. Both planned on hiding out until Sunday morning. 

Asimov and Vivienne walked hand in hand down the road to the Farm, through the gateway to Avalon. They went to his quarters in the Bard’s section, laughing about Eli and Severus, and he was alone in his dorm room with silence spells and enough privacy wards to keep out anything or one. Eli was shut up in her loft, with wards so only cats could enter. Severus didn’t take the hints she’d been dropping and didn’t have the nerve to ask her. 

Severus didn’t know of the etiquette of Beltane. The person with the lower rank, so to speak, had to make the first move. A younger person had to ask the older person, the Terran had to ask the Faerie. After all, the Fey had mentalics, kind of an unfair advantage, sexual attraction was unmistakable to their peoples. There were often reasons not to consummate such feelings, and it was not considered polite to look inside the mind of a Terran to find out. Eli knew that he still held out hope that Lily would reject Potter and come to him, he wasn’t ready to let go of that yet. Would he ever? 

Eli had stated when asked about her attendance, “It’s not mandatory at 17 it’s just the first time you’re allowed, not everyone goes their first year.” Severus wasn’t sure of his feelings; he wanted Eli to make the first move, but maybe she wanted someone else? Like Rory? Or a Faerie boy? They were all so handsome. Maybe someone in her army unit? That gorgeous bass player for Wishbone Ash? 

George was gone, he’d left the night before and wouldn’t be back until Monday. Everyone assumed that Eli and Severus were at her place, and it was easier to let them think that. Severus tried not to check on Eli but he couldn’t help himself. He’d set scrying crystals in a few locations, and he lit a candle to connect with them. He gazed into the flame and the image became clear. 

The first crystal was on the roof of the archway to the owls, where he had a view across the lake of the Farm. He could see the Faerie flame on the hilltop, as well as a candle in Eli’s window. He could just make out her profile, moving across the room. He knew it was crossing the line, but he hesitated only a moment before activating his mirror. He saw Eli, taking notes on the ongoing experiments, then pacing the room and staring out the window towards Hogwarts. 

Vivienne thought both Severus and Eli were insane. Neither would make the first move. Asimov was amused, to put it mildly. “It happens, they’ll get together, eventually. Not everyone goes to their first Beltane. But I’m so glad you’re here,” he said, kissing her hand. “Let’s go find where the Bards set up their stage.” 

“Should I have said something?” Vivienne asked. “Goaded both of them?”

“No, don’t be silly, this way they will get more out of it when the inevitable happens.” 

 

Severus watched in the Faerie flame as Eli paced back and forth, until she finally went to the shelf near the sink, grabbed a bottle of sleeping potion, poured out a double shot, turned out the lights, got into bed and pulled the curtains shut. Severus went to his cabinet and got out a similar bottle and took a double shot himself, went to bed and pulled the curtains shut.

Severus was familiar with lucid dreaming. He was aware of, but never attempted, astral projection. He didn’t know that he sent his soul out to seek Eli that night. On this night, the potion had the effect of facilitating travel on the astral plane. Instead of drifting off to sleep, he felt himself float free and soar off into the air, through the window glass, water, up above the lake, to the Faerie flame above the peak of the hill on the Farm. He spiraled down the hillside, and his spirit entered Eli’s loft, floated over her body, which woke her up. 

Eli wondered if she wasn’t taking advantage of him. He wasn’t aware he was on the astral plane; this was a sending, not entirely under his control. It was Beltane, and she was seventeen, and thus, as a Maiden in heat, really couldn’t stop to ponder the ethical implications. Not on this night. He’d just think it was a vivid dream. Astral sex was not unusual, and some preferred it to physical sex. There was no gravity, no pain, the souls intertwined, with no body, the state of orgasm extended indefinitely. 

 

It wasn’t the same as sex on the physical plane, but it did have its advantages. 

 

Asimov reached in his pocket and took out an orange silk mojo bag, and tied it around her throat. “This is like the mindgems Terrans use on the horses, but it works only on Beltane, so you can experience sex as if you were a Faerie yourself.” 

Vivienne felt the effects immediately. 

“You understand this may make sex with Terrans boring, that’s what a lot of them say.” Asimov said.

“Eli explained the process and we read the book, so I know what I’m in for. I don’t want to get married or have kids, so it’s not a big sacrifice. I’d rather have few epic bouts of Faerie sex than a daily diet of boring sex.”


	7. The Day After

The Day After

The next morning Severus slept in late. Eli was right; he thought that he’d had a very vivid wet dream, but there wasn’t any sign of it. He felt completely relaxed and at ease with himself. He decided to break out the food basket Emerald had recently sent him and savored his time alone, he had a lot to think about. His heart was locked on Lily, but his groin wanted Eli. Sacred and profane love? He disliked the black/white fallacy in general and realized that things aren’t what they seem to be or want them to be. He didn’t buy into the madonna/whore gender stereotyping, besides, Eli showed no interest in anyone, except Rory and she knew she couldn’t have him. 

Or could she?

He spent all day Saturday nibbling at his Avalon treats and getting ahead on his schoolwork. 

Eli knew what she’d done and how it wasn’t completely socially acceptable, but perfectly understandable, under the circumstances. She spent all day Saturday in her loft, working on a healing potion Jeanne-Marie wanted, based on a recipe that Firenze developed using fungi and herbs grown near a spring that had certain properties of cell regeneration. 

She hoped Severus would stop by as usual Sunday morning to make sure she was doing this correctly. She wasn’t gifted in potions. These substances could have toxic side effects if mishandled. Severus and Eileen had studied potions at home for his entire life; there was no ‘magic’ employed, thus it was not in violation of whatever codes, rules, regulations or whatever the Ministry was going on about. Eileen loved their trips to Faerie so they could openly practice magic, she was getting her mojo back, she could feel her wand coming back to life, as it was when she was young and coming into her powers. Before she married a Muggle. 

This was a nice break, spending the weekend with Tobias in the London flat. She was aware that Emerald had placed wards on the rooms to maintain emotional tranquility, in addition to the hashish that was in plentiful supply. It was true what Emerald said, you can light the Beltane fire wherever you are. As soon as she lit the Faerie flame in the hearth, the fire of love, the desire that overwhelmed the senses, took over their minds. Eileen knew that it was temporary, that state of arousal can’t be maintained indefinitely, but she would enjoy it while it was there. 

Tobias, for his part, was trying to improve his behavior. Eileen was all he had. She had been there at his side when he was a star and never left him. He felt deep shame at his conduct, remembering the night he’d thought he’d killed her. He hated Spinner’s End, hated being stuck there while life passed him by. And like so many others trapped in the same place, took out his anger on those nearest him. Maybe it was time to move on, his son was grown, his responsibilities ended. If Eileen wanted to come along, fine, if not, he understood. He’d been a terrible husband and father. 

That weekend, for reasons he didn’t understand, he picked up a guitar and played. His fingers were a bit clumsy, and he didn’t have any calluses on his fingers, but it felt right to play again. He sang Eileen’s favorite songs, bringing a joyous melancholy to both of them, remembering the way they were when it seemed that love was all they needed. 

Rory was thinking about love. His mind was working as it did when the muse hit him. Lyrics and music were playing, waiting to be released. He picked up a guitar. There was always a guitar within reach. He played the riff Takeshi had shown him, thinking of Eli, her father, Tobias Snape and his son, Severus. Rory thought of the first time he had seen the Blind Pig Blues Band, when he was still playing in various showbands, doing covers of pop music and dance standards. The night he saw the band, he knew he had to play real blues, real rock and roll, write his own songs. 

He was disappointed when the band broke up; no one really knew what happened. First Takeshi was gone, no one would say where, he was just gone. The band struggled on for a while, then the bass player got run over, and the drummer disappeared on to Ken Kesey’s bus in San Francisco. Tobias and Eileen got married and disappeared. 

He hadn’t seen Takeshi until years later, in Kyoto, with Emerald and their daughter, Jeanne-Marie, who was attending school in Japan. The girl was beautiful, like her mother, ethereal, angelic, even. She was reserved, almost formal, perfectly groomed and her clothing was exquisite. She often attended his performances in Japan, with her school friends, all with the same poise and studied grace, even in repose. 

Eli looked like her father, had the same quick wit and easy smile. Severus was a bit stiff at first with strangers, and wouldn’t talk about his parents, always politely changing the subject when asked. There was a bond between Severus and Takeshi; most people assumed they were father and son. Sometimes Rory wondered what it would be like to have a family, but he knew that it wasn’t fair to anyone to live the life he’d chosen to start one. He wasn’t the marrying kind. 

 

Frank and Alice woke up Sunday morning in their room at the Hogsheade. Morrigan finally came out from under the bed where she had hidden herself. They’d booked the room months in advance, it was on the top floor of the Inn and had a view of the back yard, lake, and Hogwarts. They didn’t bother going to the show; they could see and hear the band from the room itself. They’d brought enough to drink, some hard cider and aquivet made of the apples from Avalon, as well as some of the special hashish made in the Southern mountains. The time passed quickly for them; before they knew it, it was Sunday noon. They managed to get cleaned up and hired a ride from one of the horse drawn carriages used as public transit and went to the Farm. 

Eli and Severus were in her loft, working on the potion and taking notes. Alice flopped on the bed, let Morrigan out of her carrier, and the Manx went to the studio with an aggrieved air. She’d been ignored all weekend and planned on doing the same to her two leggers. Frank flopped down in one of the wing chairs next to the hearth, idly reading the latest edition of the Quibbler. Lovegood had a way of hitting on inconvenient truths, which is why he was targeted by Riddle’s minions as well as some of the more traditional sorts who didn’t like to be made uncomfortable about some things they preferred to ignore, like causality. 

Severus declared that the potion was finished, and they tidied up the table quickly. There were a lot of guests on the Farm, everyone ate when they got hungry enough to get to the kitchen and help themselves to the provisions that had been stockpiled. 

Vivienne and Asimov showed up later, and Eleutheria sent greetings from Mount Shasta on the mirror, saying she’d portkey to classes on Monday. 

 

Eli and all of her classmates knew what was next. Cramming for the OWLS, long nights in the library trying to memorize the minutiae required for the best grades. The month would pass quickly, and they were looking forward to their first summer as legal adults, in both realms.


	8. Lily Dodges a Bullet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter tries to set up Lily for abduction, but his plot is foiled when Eli and Vivienne show up.

Lily saw Vivienne talking to a boy who looked very familiar. She walked over to their table and greeted Vivienne, checking out the boy, who looked just like the pictures of Takeshi Morgan, with different hair, wearing smoked aviator glasses. He wore a closely fitted black suit, with an open shirt, showing off a lean, athletic physique.

Whoever he was, he made even James look plain. Hmmmm, she thought, if James thinks he can keep me waiting . . . it would serve him right, he can show up seeing me with that gorgeous man. She knew how James reacted when she showed any interest in other men. It sent him wild.

She’d gone there with Peter, who left suddenly, after introducing her to two “friends” of his she’d never seen before. She got a bad feeling about them, but Peter seemed to trust them. James said he’d meet her here. She was getting annoyed, since it was past the agreed upon time, and she didn’t want to be stood up.

What she didn’t know was that James had taken a hit during practice and had to spend the night in the infirmiry. He wrote a note and left it on Peter’s desk. It was wrapped around a sealed envelope addressed to Lily, with a special surprise, when she opened it, a bouquet of lilies appeared in a rain of glitter.

Peter had read the note, then carefully refolded it, and dropped it behind his desk. He went to the window and opened it, and as he hoped, the breeze fluttered the curtains and blew the loose papers around. He wrote a note to someone on Knockturn Alley, setting up an appointment at a popular pub on Diagon Alley, sending it out with his private owl. He went to meet Lily and go with her shopping, as planned.

After shopping for hours, they went to the pub where James was supposed to meet them after practice. Peter greeted the two men, and sat at their table.

They had a drink together, chatting about the latest gossip in the Daily Prophet, until Peter said he forgot to pick up some things at Wiseacres and he had to get there before they closed.

Lily used his exit to get up, take her drink, and say to the two, “I see some of my school friends over there . . . gonna go say hello.”

She crossed the floor, to the table in the far corner. She slid into the chair right next to Eli. Wow, she thought, he’s even better looking up close . . . and she leaned over, fluttering her lashes, with a practiced toss of her red hair.

“Aren’t you going to introdushe me to your friend?” Lily said, with a sidelong look at the boy. Her speech was slurred, and Eli noted the pupils of her green eyes were dilated.

“How much have you had to drink?” Eli said.

“Why? You wanna buy me another one? Lemme finish this one first,” Lily said. “Thish is my firsssst”

Vivienne furrowed her brow. “You’re shitfaced, if that’s your first drink there’s something in it. Read a story in the Quibbler.”

Eli nodded. “Watch the drink, Viv.” She walked over to the two men Lily had been sitting with.

Lily was just about drooling. The boy was incredible. You could see his muscles ripple through the suit. Eli signaled the bartender, and blocked the men from leaving, as they attempted to get up and go.

“Is that your boyfriend?” Lily asked Vivienne.

“Of course not,” Vivienne snapped.

“Who the fuck do you think you are?” growled the larger man, as Eli blocked him from leaving the table.  
“I know who I am, I am Eli le Fey, and you’re busted,” she snarled, pinning them against the wall as one of the barkeeps came over.

“These two men spiked the drink of that redhead over at my table,” Eli said. “The glass is in the middle of the table, call an Auror to come out here.” She slammed the men back on the bench. “Sit down, you’ve got a lot of explaining to do. Keep your hands in plain sight. I see you go for a wand, you’ll regret it.”

The man got up and turned to leave, and was knocked back in his seat when Eli slapped him. He was literally stunned by the blow; Eli used her defensive magic so her hand acted like a sap glove, but left no marks. To the witnesses, it looked like an open handed slap, nothing more.

The smaller man cringed. When the two Aurors arrived a couple of minutes later, Eli took the male aside and said, “talk to the little one first, he’ll break easier, he’s the minion. Search both of them for more of the drug they used.”

The female Auror was speaking to a semi-conscious Lily. After making some notes, she took her wand and waved it over the glass. The fingerprints lit up, on the hand of everyone who handled the glass, in different colors. The fingers of the larger man, the bartender, and Lily glowed in matching shades. A buzzing sound came from the large man’s pockets, and the Auror reached in and pulled out of vial that was making the sound.

Eli grinned. “Where did you learn that?”

“From Takeshi Morgan,” the Auror said. Suddenly he realized who he was talking to. “Uh, you’re Eli?”

Eli nodded. “I’m in Animus form, what I would be if I had been born male, I had to transfigure to be an escort for my friend, Vivienne, with the camera, she is writing an article for her Muggle Studies class … sometimes it’s easier to shapeshift, you know.”

“We’d better get her to St Mungo’s for an antidote, I’ve got my information, Patrick, book them and I’ll meet you back in the office when I get the medical report,” the female auror said. “Would you two like to come with her?” Eli and Vivienne nodded.

“We’ll make sure she gets home,” Eli said.

The women portkeyed to the Emergency entrance of St Mungos. The healers took Lily with them to lie down on a bed while they examined her. The female Auror gave them her analysis of the potion in the drink, then went to sit with Eli and Vivienne.

“I can’t believe it, meeting Takeshi’s daughter? This way, you look exactly like him when he was young, I remember when he graduated, I was in the class below his. Went straight into The Job after graduation . . .well, I’d better get back to help with the paperwork. Could you have Miss Evans call me when she can give me more information?” The woman apparated out.

Eli sighed. “I’d better call Aeron and get us a ride to the flat, this may be a long night . . . “ as the healer came back.

“She’ll be fine, she just needs a place to sleep it off, I know I can trust you two to keep an eye on her.” She handed Eli the healer’s report, and handed Vivienne a vial. “Two drops in a cup of tea, to help bring her back down. She’s going to act out a bit, but she should be back to normal by tomorrow. This is my fourth case in the last month; the potion has been spreading . . . always the same, two men dose a drink and the girl disappears, some never did return . . . alive. That’s why the Aurors are so interested.”

“Yeah, I read the article in the Quibbler,” Vivienne said.

When Lily walked out of the treatment room, she was wobbling a bit but looked more like herself.  
She went to Eli, and said, “I know I should know who you are, but I don’t.”

Eli and Vivienne looked at each other and laughed.

“It’s me, Eli, in male drag,” she laughed. “Sometimes it’s easier to pose as a boy when you’re in Muggleland, Vivienne needed a male escort to this event she was going to, so she could write about it for her Muggle Studies class.”

“How do you do that?” Lily asked.

“We have spells, I guess you’d call it, that alter the DNA and then reshape the body to fit the different genotype so you look like you were born the other gender. It works only on those who have enough Faerie DNA, all of our genetic magic works only on those beings who have the magical helix . . . don’t ask me for details, I am not an Ovate.”

Lily was drunk enough not to be able to stop herself from asking, with a glance from underneath lowered lids, “Are you fully functional?”

Eli raised her eyebrows and replied, “Of course. Faerie magic doesn’t cheat.”

Vivienne laughed. “Eli, you’ve been hit on all night by horny women, good thing I’m not the jealous type!”

 

Aeron was waiting for them in the limo when they left the hospital. He took them to Whitehall where Takeshi and Emerald were talking to the Aurors.

Vivienne joined them. “You get that girl to bed, I want some information,” she said to Eli.

Eli took Lily to the guest room, and told her to lie down. Lily kicked of her shoes and lay down. “I’ll get you some tea, be right back.”

When she returned with a cup of tea and the vial, Lily had removed her outer clothes and was lying on the sheets. Eli put the cup and saucer on the bedside table, took the stopper off the vial, and put drops in tea, which gave out an aroma of flowers. Lily of the Valley, to be precise. Lily took a sip.

“Eli, I don’t know how to thank you. I am so glad you were there . . . you saved me. James didn’t show . . . I was so mad but I hope nothing happened to him. He was supposed to meet us there.”

“Just drink your tea and get some rest. Father will talk to you in the morning, if they have any more questions. I’m glad we were there to help you.”

“You look so much like him, when you’re a boy. Except the hair . . .it’s got all sorts of colors, reds, bronze, gold . . .” she murmured, running her fingers through Eli’s hair, then she suddenly sat up, straddled Eli, pumping her crotch into Eli’s groin, as she kissed Eli as she had never kissed anyone before, feeling her blood rush to her pelvis.

Eli grabbed her around the waist, stood up, and dumped her on the bed.

“What the hell, Evans … I know you’re under the influence, but that’s really too much. See you tomorrow.”

Lily grabbed Eli’s wrist. “But I thought you Faeries . . ,”

“What about us Faeries? That we’re all a bunch of slags? Yeah, I hear what they say, we’re all polymorph nymphomaniacs . . . And don’t you DARE say a word to anyone about what you just did, not to ANYONE, I won’t. Yeah, sure, some Faeries are like your pal Sirius, they’ll fuck anything, but I’m not like that. And you’re not my type.”

Eli left the room, as Lily lay back down, feeling her genitals throbbing with blood. All she could think about was sex. She gulped down the rest of the tea, which contained a plant which lessened the needs of the flesh and eventually fell asleep.

 

Eli changed her gender and her clothes, then went to the main room, where Vivienne was waiting for her. “This is amazing. After we left with Lily, the fat one tried to attack the Auror . . . and a real fire fight broke out . . . he ended up frying himself!”

“Not too surprising; did you know he was an Unspeakable?”

“What . . . how did you find that out?”

“What do you think? I probed their minds. Which I’m not supposed to be doing. He was terrified, had he been taken alive . . oh, it would have been a mess. More of a suicide, I’d say, was anyone else hurt?”

“No, but it left a real mess. Why didn’t you tell the Aurors?”

“Can’t trust any of them anymore, I’ll tell Father, he knows who he can trust with that info.”

 

James spent the evening worrying about Lily, until Albus came to his bed, where Remus and Sirius were playing cards with him.

“I thought I’d better tell you, Lily ran into a bit of trouble tonight, she’ll be back in the morning. Don’t worry; she’s fine.”

“Where’s Peter? I left him a note, told him what happened and to just come back with Lily when they got done shopping. He couldn’t have missed it; I put it right on top of his desk, next to his wallet, so he wouldn’t miss it. And he couldn’t get in the pub without his ID don’t see how he could not have gotten it.”

Albus raised his eyebrows slightly.

Remus jumped up. “I’ll go get him.”

Sirius joined him and they went to the Peter’s room. He wasn’t there but one of his room mates said that when he came to the room, the window was open and papers were scattered all over the place. Maybe the note got blown off the desk?

The looked around the room, and Sirius spotted a corner of the note behind the desk, presumably blown there when the window was opened.

Sirius took the note and he and Remus went back to the infirmary, and told James what they’d found.

“So where is Wormtail?” James said. Sirius grinned and took the Map from his robe pocket.

Peter had been establishing an alibi at the time. After leaving the pub, he went to Wiseacre’s and bought some supplies, then he skulked around the area, watching for the accomplices of his “friends” to arrive with their delivery truck, who would park in the alley, near the exit that was next to the table he’d been sitting at.

He got a sense that things wouldn’t work as planned, so he went to a pub down the block and made sure that the barkeep saw him, and so he tipped him well. His instincts had been right; after Eli, Vivienne, and Lily were apparated to St Mungos, the fight broke out, and a fire was ignited, flames engulfing the front until the Emergency Magic Techs put the fire out. He couldn’t be blamed for that, either, he thought to himself. After all, he was here when the fire broke out.

He used the cover of all the excitement on the street to leave the pub and return to Hogwarts on the Late Express to Hogsmeade. When he got back to Hogwarts, his footprints showed up on the Map and Sirius went to meet him.

“What the hell happened?”  
Peter looked confused. “What do you mean? I told Lily I was running an errand and would return later . . . when I did the street was blocked off and I was told to go home, it was an active crime scene. I wasn’t a witness; I had no idea what was going on. Was anyone hurt? Where’s Lily?”

“That’s what we’d like to know. You didn’t get the note . . .”

“What note?”

“The note . . . James took a fall during practice and is spending the night in the infirmary. Lily will be back in the morning, Dumbledore says.”

They went to see James as Pettigrew was getting a bit nervous. He’d thought that Lily would have been long gone by the time he got back from the store . . . but she didn’t know anything. He had a good cover story about those two men.

 

Lily woke up the next morning at dawn. Vivienne and Emerald came in with tea and some breakfast, apple tarts and Scotch eggs, just what her depleted body craved.

“How are you feeling?” Emerald said. She put drops from the vial into the tea and stirred it with Avalon honey. “Drink this, you’ll feel more like yourself. Those were some strong drugs you were given. Good thing you didn’t finish the drink. You would have turned into a zombie.”

Lily drank the tea, while gazing at Emerald. She was the most beautiful woman she’d ever seen. Except for maybe her first daughter. Eli was cute, to be sure . . . all the girls said if they went Sapphic, Eli would be the chosen partner . . . even though Eli showed no signs of such an inclination. Well, everyone knew about those Faeries, eh? Say no more!

“Get cleaned up and we’ll take the limo to Hogwarts. How much do you remember of last night? Don’t worry; you won’t be questioned, Takeshi said they had all the information they needed.”

 

Takeshi and Eli were eating breakfast and discussing what she’d read in the missing, presumed dead, man. There was only one body found, charred beyond recognition, and further tests would be needed to establish his identity, officially, at least. Since he was an Unspeakable, he had no identity that could be traced to the Ministry, and the small man, and grifter from America named Quigley, was singing like a canary.

He wouldn’t be prosecuted, since he might tell the truth and that might prove to be embarrassing to certain individuals. Quigley’s confessions resulted in the take down of a white slavery ring, that targeted Muggles and Muggleborns, who were less likely to have connections who would be able to trace them. Quigley was taken back to his native land and cursed, so that if he ever set foot in any area under the jurisdiction he would die, and a complete Obliviate on his mind about certain facts the Ministry didn’t want mentioned.

Lily had dodged a bullet.

 

When they arrived at Hogwarts, Albus was there to greet them. Eli and Vivienne went to the Hall. Eli sat in her usual place, next to Severus who was going over Potions with George and Regulus.

As Peter expected, Lily would be too concerned with James to mention what had happened, and he couldn’t be blamed. Lily, for her part, was not interested in telling James anything about her adventure, not realizing how she’d been set up, attributing it to bad luck. Surely Peter didn’t know what those men were.

Surely Peter did.


	9. Lily breaks her promise

Lily and Eli have a chat   
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RIemLUQk5Dc&feature=push-u&attr_tag=uWVGBYqpedaVTn_t-6 the view from The Farm   
For the next few days, the investigation into the drugging and attempted abduction of Lily went into high gear. Eli was interrogated by the highest ranking Aurors, who unwittingly gave up more information than they got. Eli's story was corroborated by all of the witnesses, and one of the surviving victims identified the minion. 

Of course no one could talk about the disappearance of the Unspeakable, that would be Unthinkable, Unmentionable, even Unmutual. Eli knew, of course, so did her father. 

 

Lily struggled with how her feelings about Eli changed after that night. She had friends who were self proclaimed Sapphics, she didn't mind them, just not interested. Which is how she felt about Severus, she realized. He didn't get her lower chakras going. James did. From the day she first saw him. Like exquisite electricity down the spine to the groin. Sophia Portae, who claimed to like both genders equally, told her, "Maybe you just haven't met the right woman."

She felt that same thrill when she saw Eli as a boy. Her memories of that night were somewhat blurry, but she remembered kissing Eli, like she'd never kissed James. Yet. She started paying more attention to Eli, watching her during class, following her around the campus, and talked the librarian into loaning her the books on Faerie that the Ministry would not allow on the open shelves. 

Lily understood what Sophia meant now. She needed to talk to someone. And only Remus could possibly understand. She knew about Remus and Sirius; knew that Remus wanted Eli, but that made him feel disloyal to Sirius and thus couldn't talk about that, either. 

"I don't think that such . . . pairings bother her," Lily said. "I was reading this book, about Faerie sociology, and they just don't care, they have gays, straights, bis, some change their gender, some are very, uh, active, and some don't bother at all." 

Remus nodded. "Remember all the gossip when she came about how all Faeries are sluts? How they would fuck anything? And how she shot down everyone who came on to her? They really DON'T have sex until they are at least 17." He sighed. "And now, thanks to all the attacks on her, all the insults, I don't think she'd going to allow anyone here near her. Except Severus." 

Lily giggled. "We're both jealous of Severus."

Remus laughed. "Yeah, I guess we are. And so is Sirius. I know how bad he wants Eli. He's like a little boy, he attacks her because he has such a crush on her and he knows how much she loathes him. I wouldn't worry about your feeling for her; it's normal, or at least I think it is, to have feelings for someone of your own gender." 

"I was hoping it was a reaction to the drugs I was given but I wonder . . . this is affecting my school work. I think about her all the time. Even when I'm with James. At first I thought, well, she IS a very handsome boy when she's in animus form. But then, uh, I have had dreams of her as a woman with me." 

"She has that effect on a lot of people, male and female, gay and straight. Gotta give her credit, she doesn't use that power over others, most people would. I don't think she dislikes you, maybe you should talk to her? I heard her once turn down a girl . . . she was nice about it, told the girl she was flattered that she felt that way, but no thanks, and they still talk from time to time."

"I . . . can't. Remus, promise me you won't tell anyone, she made me promise not to tell but I can't keep this inside, it's driving me crazy." Lily bit her lip, looked around her, leaned over and said quietly, "I . . . uh . . . I kissed her, him . . . she was still in animus form . .. . Well, not just kiss. She brought me some tea, I was in her bed, as a matter of fact, in their London flat . . . and I uh . . . kind of jumped her . . . , stuck my tongue in her mouth and started humping . . . and it wasn't just the drugs." 

Remus stared at her, mouth open. "Mighty Aphrodite, what did she do?" he said. He remembered a conversation he'd had with a Slytherin boy at the Two Wizards pub, where house differences were ignored, how HOT Eli was as a boy. She'd demonstrated the ability to gendershift in the Commons room one day when they were discussing Transfigurations spells done in Avalon.   
Lily blushed furiously. 

"She picked me up and threw me back on the bed, I said something stupid, really stupid, about how I thought all Faeries were . . . she didn't let me finish that sentence, I'm so ashamed. I want to apologize, but I can't face her, especially because of how she makes me feel and you know she's a Legilimens," Lily said, blushing fiercely. "She'd know. And what I did . . . if a boy did that, can you imagine? It would be sexual assault! I could be expelled!" 

"they don't enforce those rules, lucky for Sirius," Remus said, with a grimace. "She won't report you, anyway. Is that why she's been cutting class so much lately? Because she doesn't want to face you?"

"I think so. She has been coming to breakfast very early and she and Severus have been doing their potions assignments outside of class . . . I tried to talk to her in the ladies' room and she apparated out. I mean grabbed her books, didn't even dry off her hands or turn off the faucet, she saw me and was gone." 

"She's very good at apparating, isn't she?"

"I tried to send her an owl and the owl came back with the letter unopened."

"Maybe you should talk to Horace, he's her house leader, maybe he can set up a meeting."

"That's a great idea! Thanks, Remus, it's so nice to have you to talk to, you help me see things clearly."

She stopped by Horace's office after classes that day. 

"Professor Slughorn, I was wondering if you could help me . . . there was a . . . misunderstanding . . . between Eli le Fey and I, you know about The Incident, and I . . . I need to apologize and she won't let me near her, won't even accept my owl, and I'm so so sorry . . .'" Lily did her trademark expression, the one that won James over, head tilted, looking up through lowered lids, with a faint flutter of the eyelashes and a tremulous little smile. 

"Oh, my dear, perhaps Eli is just busy . . ." Horace stammered. He'd also noticed how Eli acted, well, not afraid of Lily but would get as far away as possible, including asking for time off the classes they had together. He and Minerva were concerned; the incident was very, very serious, and the Ministry had asked him to keep an eye on Eli and Lily, that others in the white slave cabal might target them.

Horace asked the Slytherin Matron to get ahold of Eli and send her to his office. Eli knocked on the door two minutes later. When she saw Lily, she scowled. "What is this about? I was in band practice and we have to get ready for the concert. If it's about what happened, the Aurors are handling things." 

"Remus said I should ask Professor Slughorn to get you to talk to me," Lily said.

Eli glared at her. "You didn't tell anyone, did you?"

Lily stammered.

"YOU PROMISED NOT TO TELL ANYONE, EVANS."

"Just Remus . . . he can be trusted," Lily whispered. "I was so upset you wouldn't even let me near you, I feel so bad about what happened . . ."

"SHUT YOUR GOB, EVANS." 

"I'm so sorry," Lily whimpered and began to cry.

"OH FUCK, FIRST YOU GO AND BREAK YOUR WORD AND NOW YOU USE TEARS TO GET ME TO GO ALONG WITH YOUR DEMANDS, THAT'S LIKE KICKING OVER A CHESSBOARD, YOU END ALL DISCUSSION."

Eli turned to Horace. "I am losing my temper. This little oathbreaker did something she's ashamed of, and I gave her the out, just shut up about it and I would never say a thing. I am leaving this room. I do not ever want to discuss this meeting, or why Evans wanted it, or what she has to say for herself."

Horace was about to say something, but the look on Eli's face silenced him. He waved his wand to open the door and Eli stalked out.

He had been teaching for a long time and was aware of what these conflicts usually were about, something to do with sex. 

"Let it go, Lily. Whatever happened, happened, move on." 

"I wish I could," she replied. 

"Give Eli her space," Horace said. "You DID tell someone, didn't you?" He conjured a hankerchief scented with Ylang Ylang and gave it to her. 

Lily wiped her tears. "Yes. I told Remus. I had to tell someone . . . she wouldn't talk to me and it was eating me up . . ."

"Well, you made a mistake, a very bad mistake, breaking confidence with Eli."

"What makes it worse is she was more interested in saving my reputation by keeping what happened a secret. She doesn't care what anyone here thinks of her, I don't blame her. I thought I had it bad as a Muggleborn, but she's been under siege since she got here. Except for her four friends." 

"Don't make it worse by giving me any more information!" Horace said. "Here's some chocolate her mother sent me. Always puts me in a good mood."

They ate chocolate and talked about how her studies were going, and then went to dinner together. Eli and Severus were already gone when they arrived. 

For the next week, she was depressed and confused. She was constantly looking around for Eli, staring at her when they were in the same room. Eli rarely was alone, Severus and at least one of her female friends were around her at all times when she was on campus. James couldn't help but notice her preoccupation, and as was his wont, got it all wrong. He was convinced it was Severus who had caused Lily's mood shift and immediately figured Severus had dosed her somehow with some sort of love potion. 

He redoubled his attacks on Severus. He would drive his rival out of Hogwarts no matter what it took. Lily was HIS. It never occured to him, in his phallocentric view of life, that Lily might be mooning over Eli. 

Eli was very aware of the danger to Severus by Potter. He was the Chosen One to Albus, could do no wrong. She chafed at his prejudice against her Prince. So she stayed around him as much as she could. She didn't like some of the boys in Slytherin, but realized that since she couldn't guard him all the time, he had to have some allies. 

About a week after Lily's attempted abduction, Albus called her to his office. Fawkes squawked and flew over to her shoulder. He tugged on her hair as she ruffled his feathers, chatting in his language, which she was familiar with. Her sister had taught her "enough to be polite" in his tongue. 

"What's this about, Headmaster?" Eli said. She was careful to always treat him as though he were not a member of her family. You never knew who was listening. 

"It's about The Incident. The case has been closed, they are trying to protect the dignity of the surviving victims"

"So The Ministry can pretend it never happened. Brilliant."

Albus sighed. He was tired of her always bringing up inconvenient truths. She was incapable of deceit and couldn't deal with those who insisted that they knew better and thus there are some things that simply can't be spoken of. Maybe the Fey were right; covering up truth doesn't seem to end well. But 'the nail that sticks up gets hammered down' so he prefered to be discreet. He would hide unpleasantness and avoid certain things, he was aware of his moral cowardice and she always hit that nerve in him. Just like Cordelia. 

Eli didn't mention she knew the dead one was an Unmentionable. He knew it too, but wasn't sure she did. So he didn't mention it, either. 

"One of them is dead, the other one gave the Aurors all the information they needed, in exchange for being exiled rather than sent to Azkaban, with permanent curses on him that will cause some extremely unpleasant things to happen to him if he ever does anything like that again. The magical authorities in his native land have been fully informed and he is being monitored. The rest of the ring will spend the rest of their lives in Azkaban. We've found the bodies of the women who were murdered, and those who survived are getting the best of care."

"At St Mungo's? " Eli snorted with contempt. 

Albus sighed again. "I wish we could call in some Faerie psychic healers but that's out of the question." 

He reached for an envelope on his desk. It was the letter than Eli had returned to Lily.

"Really, Eli, that was so ... drama queen of you, to send back a letter."

She took the letter. "I suppose."

"I don't know why, or what, nor do I wish to. But I can't let this stand."

"Why, because you are so enamored of everyone in Gryffindor? I'm not allowed to dislike your little pets, even though they have been attacking me and Severus for no reason?," she replied, staring him straight in the eye. He looked away, not quite able to stop the blood from rushing to his face in time to prevent a noticable reddening. There was a knock at the door and he got up quickly, trying to conceal his emotions. There she was again, smacking him where he couldn't guard himself. He felt empathy for the Dark Arts professors she had bested in their own class. He knew she wasn't the reason that they quit after one term, but several had told him she should be teaching the class. 

In fact her scholastic ability had proven to be superior to almost all of the other students. This caused grumbling among the other students, especially those in Gryffindor, who insisted she must be cheating. She raised the curve! It wasn't fair! 

Their complaints to their parents had been relayed to the Ministry, which caused them to issue an order to Albus that she be banned from taking the OWLS unless she took a different test alone. Albus instructed the professors to come up with questions that were equally difficult, or more difficult, for Eli. 

 

Albus showed her the letter he'd gotten from the Ministry, and they had a laugh together over it. 

"So when would you like to take your test? Before or after the others?" Albus asked her. 

"Before, I suppose. Would that be a problem?" 

"No, and I shall be the proctor myself, you'll take it here, in my office. That should satisfy the parents." He smiled. "There will be wards, because you can be sure that there will be those spying on you. And me. So, you'll need to be here at first light. I don't think you will need the same length of time. You also have to stay here, under wards, when the others take their exams, so I'll have food sent in. I would like you to read over and add your suggestions to the syllabus for Runes studies, since those you've tutored have improved so much, we'd like to incorporate some of your teaching methods."

"Sure, anything that would help."

"You will get academic credit for it, of course." Albus chuckled. "As if that mattered to you."

Fawkes settled in Eli's lap, so she could scratch between his wings, where he couldn't reach with is beak or his talons, chirping happily. She didn't notice that Albus had opened the door to Remus and Lily. When they came in and sat next to her, her eyes flashed green. The phoenix felt her anger and squawked. Albus came and picked him up, and he pecked at Albus, to demonstrate his annoyance at his 'master' for making Eli angry. 

Eli got up, turned her back to the three and went to the window. "What is this about?" she growled. "I thought I made myself clear to you, Evans. Why are you stalking and harassing me? Why can't you leave me alone?"

Albus went to her, and picked up both her hands in his. "I don't want to presume on our relationship, but I am asking you to please at least talk to these two; I shall leave you alone. You must resolve this." 

This got Eli even more annoyed with Albus. How dare he, she thought to herself. Were it not for Severus, she would have dropped out immediately and returned to Faerie. He knew he could pull rank on her, because of the fact he was a part, albeit unacknowleged, of her family. 

She glowered at him. "You owe me," she said in a soft voice. "And I will collect."

Albus only partially admitted to himself that he was afraid of her. She had never looked at him with the 'green sparks' in her eyes before, and it troubled him deeply. 

"Just settle this between the three of you, please." Albus said.

Remus and Lily were somewhat shocked at their headmaster's pleading tone. He'd never said 'please' to a student before. 

Albus left the room, carrying a ruffled and noisy Fawkes with him.

Eli turned, arms crossed across her chest, leaned back against the window sill. She looked at Remus, and he cleared his throat.

"I just want there to be some sort of accord, and I'd like to assure you that no one else will ever know of what happened."

Eli said nothing. 

"It's just that . . . "

Eli turned and looked back out the window.

The silence stretched into minutes. 

"I'll try and keep James and Sirius from bothering you and your friends," Remus finally mumbled. "I should have done something sooner."

Eli snorted. "That's mighty white of you." {Play the white man is a term used in parts of Britain meaning to be decent and trustworthy in one's actions. The similar American expression is "that's mighty white of you" with the meaning of "thank you for being fair". The origin of the phrase is obscure.}

Lily spoke softly. "You saved me, I don't want you to hate me, or my friends."

Eli turned and fixed her gaze on Lily. "I treat everyone as they deserve. As for saving you, that's what I'm all about, I'm a soldier, I protect everyone. I don't just stick up for my friends at the expense of others," she said, looking at Remus, who flushed bright red.

He knew she was right. 

It was two weeks later that James attacked Severus, and it was the last time she and Severus ever spoke to each other.


	10. Incident on OWLS Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is what happened to Eli and the Friends when Severus was attacked by Potter There will be blood.

17

Lily moped for the next week. She brushed off James, which got him angry, and he blamed Severus. He complained to Sirius constantly, and Remus's attempt to get him to chill out didn't work. Remus didn't know what to do; they were excluding him on their more extreme adventures. He and Lily comisserated in private, in the library. Lily had noticed Eli's private study room, and staked out a spot in the stacks where she could spy on them.

Occasionally James would join her, to copy her notes, mostly. One day as he was doing so, Eli and Severus walked out of the room together. Severus was smiling, so was Eli. She sighed deeply. James looked up, followed her gaze, and went into a silent rage. He'd get that Slytherin half blood, he vowed to himself. He was too afraid of Eli to go after him if she were around, and he'd have to wait until some time when she was far away.

Lily had released the green eyed monster in James. When she saw the look on his face, she wondered if she hadn't inadvertantly pushed it too far. She knew James was capable of doing rash, thougtless acts of cruelty and his anger sometimes got the better of him.

She reached over and took his hand, and whispered in his ear, "I'm worn out from studying, how about we go out for something to drink?" James hugged her. "Let's get out of this musty old library, I've got some excellent Entdraught."

They went, hand in hand, to their favorite spot behind the bleachers. She thought she'd defused the situation. Sev had served his purpose. Time to make a complete break with him.

She knew that would break his heart. Collateral damage. The Rules worked, she'd hooked, gaffed, and gotten James onboard. Eli was there to pick up the pieces, anyway.

She knew she was being intellectually dishonest, on some level. She supressed such insights.

The crusade against Eli by the Ministry of Education continued. In addition to being sealed in Albus's office, there would be proctors and observers to make sure Eli couldn't cheat using mentalics.

Albus hoped that nothing would happen.

Of course, something did.

Eli finished her essays with time to spare. She was playing with Fawkes, who was sharing her meal, when James attacked Severus, in line waiting to take their exams.

She felt his distress and dashed to the window, where she saw what happened. She could not help her Prince. Rage, like she had never felt before, rose inside her, inflaming the lower chakras. She sent an emergency call to her mother, on her mirror, lest the rage turn her into a Berserker. Her mother contacted Takeshi and Cordelia.

It didn't take long for Takeshi to arrive at Hogwarts. He sought out Albus, and snarled, "that's it. I am no longer your grandson. Take me to my daughter before she does to you and your pets as you deserve. If she goes after you I will not stop her. After what those juvenile thugs did to Severus last year . . . you said you'd handle it. And you didn't. You know how much he means to me and my family. How can you be so cruel to him?"

"Eli's in my office, under wards. Use your wand . . . I'd better go settle the students," Albus muttered.

"Run away, you coward, that's all you ever do, isn't it?"

Those were the last words he ever spoke to his grandfather.

 

The two were close enough to the students gathered in the quad, but they couldn't hear the words used. They could tell that Takeshi Morgan had just called out and bested their headmaster. Eleutheria, Alice and Vivienne ran to Severus, Eleutheria aiming a wandless befuddlement hex at Sirius and James, quite successfully. Neither did well on the OWLS, Sirius flunked them all, which he probably would have done anyway, and James flunked the Potions and Dark Arts exams, and barely passed the other tests.

There was a lot more to Eleutheria than her housemates realized. Remus was the only one who suspected what she'd done, but felt his friends deserved that and more for their disgraceful conduct, so he kept silent. After all, he'd covered up a lot more than that for his friends. He felt horrible. He blamed himself for not being more diligent; he'd left them in the Main hall, dawdling over breakfast, while he'd hurried out to get in line. Maybe he could have stopped James. But he and Lily wanted to get in the room early to get settled in, and had been going over their Runes in line, to get in as much time as possible in that difficult subject.

Both wished they'd been able to attend Eli's seminars, but knew that wouldn't go over well with the Marauders. And Eli just didn't seem to like either of them very much. He couldn't blame her. Then it happened. They both went to try and get James to stop. He wouldn't. Remus was losing his temper and Sirius finally stopped laughing, and Remus dragged him away, whispering in his ear that he would pay for that dearly.

Lily wasn't really angry at Severus for using the word "mudblood," since she'd heard it often enough, even making jokes about it. But this was the perfect opportunity to cut Severus loose for good. It worked. She closed the deal with James, knew she had him completely. Openly rebuking her oldest friend was the price she paid for her love.

Albus went to the group of students gathered around Severus.

"One thousand demerits to Gryffindor."

"Is that all you are going to do that that Potter thug?" Eleutheria sneered, turning her back to Albus. "Take points away from his house, punishing everyone but your little pet?"

Lily spoke up. "That's a terrible thing to say."

"SHUT. UP. EVANS." Alice roared. Lily scuttled to the end of the line, where Remus soon joined her.

"Fucking Gryffindorks," Alice yelled. "Nothing but thugs and bullies."

No one had ever heard gentle little Alice talk like this. The Gryffindors all backed away, leaving Severus to be surrounded by his friends, joined by some of the Slytherin girls and Horace, who'd been summoned by Albus, who couldn't face Severus. Pomona, with her unerring instinct to sooth and comfort students, hugged Severus and helped him settle his nerves.

"You need to do your best, Severus," she crooned. "You're the best scholar at Hogwarts. Show them they can't ruin your academic record with such ... such . .. well, there is no nice way to describe what Potter just did. I am so sorry you're hurting. Now, let's breathe ..."

Vivienne was beside herself with anger. She stomped to the end of the line, and ignored Minerva's warning glance.

"You're disgusting, you prick," she growled at Potter. "No wonder your parents disappeared. They probably just wanted to be rid of you. You think you're so damned superior to everyone here, and you're just a mean, nasty, ARSEHOLE and mark my words, you will regret what you just did, in ways you will never imagine until your own arrogance destroys you."

"Now, just a minute, Turner," Sirius said.

"Shut your gob, you wanker. You're crazy. You should have been locked up at St Mungo's years ago. Even that fucked up family of yours denounced you."

Minerva touched her arm.

"Don't touch me, Professor," Vivienne said, with narrowed eyes. "I know a lot more than you think about what you've covered up and you're deplorable. Go ahead and give Ravenclaw demerits for my 'insubordination,' I'm done with you."

There was something in the girl's eyes that silenced Minerva. She told herself in the interests of keeping the peace she'd let this go, surely the poor thing was under a great deal of stress, with the tests coming up.

"And the rest of you arseholes, that's so funny, eh? You disgust me, all of you," she said, pointing at the students. The rage she felt was tangible, flowing out from her finger, smashing into their third eyes. "I won't forget this, or any of you."

Most of the students who had laughed had the decency to be ashamed of themselves. Yeah, Severus was poor, he was a Slytherin, but he was a decent sort, willing to help when asked, didn't cause anyone trouble. The Slytherins in the crowd gloated, knowing that they would win the House Cup.

"Hey, Potter, thanks for giving us the House Cup!" one of the girls yelled. "Couldn't have done it without you!"

There was a certain amount of grumbling among the Gryffindors, but they were too cowed by Potter and his pals to openly say how they felt. Yeah, he was a great Quidditch player, yeah, he had money, and yeah, his family mysteriously disappeared, but when you got right down to it, he was a bully. He rode herd on the other students in his house, lording his position as Headmaster's Pet to an obnoxious degree, openly breaking rules that got them in trouble. There was some speculation as to what had happened to his family, or just how he'd earned so much approval from the headmaster, but no one ever said anything openly.

Most of the students had been the victims of his pranks over the years, amusing only to him and his sycophants. None of them had dared tell him off, the way Vivienne just had, but all got a certain thrill out of seeing the Boss of Hogwarts get taken down a peg or two. Vivienne was popular; she'd formed a student paper, featuring news, pictures, poems and whatever else the students wished to contribute, something they could send to their families showcasing their talents.

She was also considered to be the quickest with a wand of anyone in the school. She'd stopped dueling after beating every challenger, retiring undefeated. James never got over how easily she'd taken him down. She was also one of the best flyers in the school, but just wasn't interested in Quidditch. Ravensclaws never much bothered with it, it just didn't matter to them as much as academics. She thought brooms were fine for kiddies, but not worth much once you'd learned how to apparate or ride a Griffen.

Albus directed the students to the main hall, avoiding eye contact with Severus and his friends. Minerva was upset, knowing how this would go down with the Druids in Avalon, whose approval she sought. She still held out hope that she could go study with them.

"I think we'd best avoid going to Sunday dinner at the Farm," Albus told her as they watched the students take their seats. "Could you do me a favor and check on Eli and Takeshi in my office? Eli has to stay secluded until the exams are over, in case you didn't read the directives."

 

When Takeshi got to the office, he found Eli in a state of anger deeper than anything he'd ever seen except in combat. Her eyes were bright green and the sparks coming out of them were brighter than the sunlight streaming through the windows. He grabbed her by the shoulders and spoke a spell used to calm battlerage, which settled her enough to speak.

"How could they do that ... poor Severus. I want to destroy that Potter asshole. I warned them. Don't try to stop me. I want my revenge and I'm going back to Avalon. Or I'll kill them all. Starting with Dumbledore. I don't care if he's part of the family."

"not to me, not anymore," Takeshi said. "You have to stay. You're all Severus has to keep him safe. You know that. Now. We both need to calm down. You know the drill."

They sat on the floor, while Fawkes fluttered above them, chirping at them. They began with the breathing, when Minerva knocked on the door. She ran to Eli, tears in her eyes, and said, "I am so very, very sorry. I failed you once again. I failed Severus. I failed in my duty."

Eli sneered and shook her head. "Leave us. Now."

Minerva nodded. "I'll bring Severus and your friends here when they're done." She looked at Takeshi, who glared at her. That hurt. She'd never gotten over her crush on him from their school days. She realized that whatever friendship they'd had was over. Oh, he'd be perfectly polite, he wouldn't ban her from the Farm, he wouldn't interfere with Cordelia's friendships with her or Albus, but he and Eli would never want her around, would never trust either of them.

She couldn't blame them. She was aware what hold James Potter had over Albus, she was one of the few who knew what really happened the Potter family, why they had "disappeared" and were not mentioned. There were too many secrets, too many scandals, covering up the truth was standard operating procedure with the Ministry. But she wasn't going to be the one to let that cat out of the bag. The repercussions would be too severe. She liked her job. Still, there were times, when she would wake up in the middle of the night, the ghosts of her past, how she'd compromised her values so often came rushing in to haunt her. It's for the greater good, she would tell herself. The ends justify the means, she'd try to believe, but deep down, she knew better. She was a sell out. A shameless craven, an unmitigated coward, preferring to believe the lies and suppress the truth.

But she was a far better person than Albus. Which would be damning herself with faint praise. She vowed that if she ever got any power, if she were to be Headmistress, she would make some changes.

As expected, Severus was the first one done. As was the custom, he quietly got up, turned in his paper, and apparated to the hallway. This was to test the ability to apparate under stress and while fatigued. He was met by Horace, who escorted him to Albus's office, which was guarded by two Aurors. Horace nodded to them and the door was opened for them.

Takeshi nodded at them. "Have some coffee, there's some food, help yourself," he said, as he indicated a trestle table set lunch. He gave Severus a hug. "I talked to your mother, we're going to meet her in London, OK? I've got some things to take care of at the Ministry. Eli will pick up your transcript and send it to you there. Then I have to go to Torayama. We can work on your kendo moves, get you ready for the midsummer festival contest."

Eli was still seated on the floor, her eyes closed. Fawkes had settled down next to her. He'd used his healing powers on her to calm the brainstorm of battlemadness triggered by the attack on Severus. She opened her eyes and looked into his, and a bloodtear slid out of her eye. He reached out to her, and touched the tear with his finger and kissed it, tasting her very essence.

Horace gasped. Takeshi stood perfectly still, scarcely breathing. Severus had done some immensely powerful magic. The bloodtear of a Faerie has properties beyond the ability of any Wizard on Terra to create. By ingesting that tear, he could tap into Faerie magic.

"I wasn't there for you again, Severus," Eli said in a quiet voice. "I failed in my duty."

He knelt in front of her, taking her hands in his. He tried to smile. "Potter got those Gryffindorks so many demerits, all the Slytherins are singing my praises for winning the House Cup!"

She smiled. "Such a brave soldier, taking one for the team. Bravo, my Prince."

Horace took a deep breath, put on his most sparkling smile, held out his hands, saying in his most genial voice, "My dears, you both look famished, and look at what the elves brought you! I've messaged Cordelia, and she will be at the outer gates with Nils and horses when your other friends are done. You can wait for the grades to come out at the Farm. Now, I must away, I will meet your Friends as they finish, they are always among the fastest!" Horace went back to the Hall, to check the students off on the final Apparation.

Takeshi handed Eli the hashish vaporizer. She and Severus inhaled three times, which relaxed their tensed gastro intestinal systems enough to have a good appetite. The elves always did themselves proud on the post OWLS food. Since the Great Hall was occupied, they set up food on the balconies, the herb garden, all around the Quad and the Fountain. There was an excellent bottle of fortified mead from Avalon, shimmering like liquid gold in the crystal chalices as they caught the sun. Vivienne arrived next. She sat next to Severus. He handed her the hashish vaporizer.

She filled a chalice, calling, "Here's to the hero who won his House the Cup! And took it away from the Gryffindorks! That's like what Eleutheria says, she loves the Giants and any team who beats the Dodgers!" He smiled, and they all took a drink.

Alice was next. After taking three hits of vape and a full chalice of mead, gulped on an empty stomach, she gave Severus and hug and a kiss. "Thanks for all the help. I know I aced Potions, thanks to you. By the way, she said in the "secret" voice she had, where she could say something to one person only, "Eleutheria laid a hex on Potter, she did that wandless Befuddler you developed. Hit his other pals, too . . . she don't know her own strength."

"I'd like to say that wasn't fair, but considering they attacked you because they knew Eli was under guard, trying to befuddle you and preventing you from doing your best on the OWLS, they got what was coming to them," Alice continued. "None of them really need high test scores, they will just live off inherited money, except Lupin, of course . . . that creepy little toad is the offspring of a rather well connected man, on the wrong side of the sheets . . ."

Severus smiled. Eleutheria sauntered in with an even bigger smile. "Horace just told me, you got the highest score in Potions, you aced it. He scanned your test himself. Congratulations." He got up and gave her a hug and the hashish vaporizer.

"Now we wait for the end of the test period, we have a couple of hours," Takeshi said. The group chatted about the test, and the time passed. The chime that announced the end of the test period rang, and the students straggled out of the main hall, looking for food and a place to relax. All of the Ravensclaws had finished long before the time was up, of course.

Minerva stalked up to James and Sirius. "With me, you two. Don't speak to me at all."

Albus appeared out of nowhere, saying in his quiet voice, "Anyone but you would have been expelled, and you know the reason why. You went too far this time. You are all on notice, including you, Evans. Apparently you were upset by being called a 'mudblood' by your first Wizard friend, and that word is not exactly unheard in the halls of Hogwarts, I've heard you use that word about yourself."

He turned abruptly and disappeared, apparating to the top of the tower where he loved to look over the lake. You could see the roof of the mansion on the Farm from there. Cordelia would be angry with him again. She was his oldest surviving friend, he didn't want to lose her, too. The Greater Good, he said to himself. Sacrifices must be made.

明るく輝く

Gwydion Morgan shook his head as Takeshi told him what his father was doing. The clan on Torayama had accepted Gwydion as an adopted son, he was considered a natural talent in kendo. Gwydion did not like his father. He'd seen for himself the way he'd let that Riddle boy run amok. He was grateful for the genetic legacy, of course, the ties to Merlin's line made his magic a great deal more powerful. He just didn't like his father, or respect him.

Life on Torayama suited him. He left the mountain only to travel to the Farm, or visit the District in Kyoto. His daughter Masumi was the mountain shaman. He had a stable of the finest of the local horses, strong, agile, with hooves adapted to climbing on the rocks like mountain goats. He competed in the equestrian events during festivals successfully; he'd assimilated into the mountain. The Nurikabe ("wall monster" yokai) that kept outsiders outside, both on the mountain and in the District in Kyoto, never blocked him.

Gwydion took his son to the shrine and his sister wrote out the paperwork to officially remove Albus's name from the list allowing passage to the mountain by right of blood. The Nurikabe would block him for eternity, in all future incarnations. You can't disinherit a parent or grandparent, but if they dishonor the family, they are exiled.  Albus would be allowed in only under escort, and would need written permission to set foot on the Mountain again.


	11. /After the OWILS is over/Parents Week at Hogwarts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the OWLS and NEWTS, parents, no Muggles, of course, spend the week in parent/professor conferences, as well as a great deal of socializing among the parents.

After the OWLS is over/Parent's Week at Hogwarts  
The final week of the term, the younger students were studying for their finals, the 8th years cramming for the NEWTS, which took place after the OWLS. The parents of the 7th and 8th year students attending conferences with the professors and staff, as well as socializing with each other, and sizing up the marriage prospects for their offspring. Muggles were of course not invited. 

None of the Marauders had parents attending. Remus had been disowned when he contracted lycanthropy, Sirius was disowned, James's parents missing in action, and Peter's Squib mother never left her home, his very married Wizard father would do no more than pay his school expenses. 

Lily and the other Muggleborns in her class tried not to show their resentment at being excluded, like orphan children shunted aside on Mother's Day. She didn't like the patronizing attitude that the Wizarding families showed to her when she was introduced to her friend's parents. She tried to hide when a group of Gryffindor parents came in to the Commons room with Minerva, discussing the dance at the end of the week.

"Minerva, I thought that Takeshi Morgan was going to play, and now, I find he's not going to be here? What happened? Is he OK? I know he's an Azure Dragon, is there another war in the Rim of Fire?" asked on well dressed matron. "I was so looking forward to seeing him again," the woman sighed. 

"I know he's around, I saw him yesterday at the Hogshead," replied a man dressed head to toe in Gryffindor colors, whose son was on the Quidditch team. "He said he'd be playing there this weekend, with some of the local musicians, at the 'stick, so we can still catch his act, and our kids are old enough to come with us. I'd rather go there than attend another stuffy dance here, no offense, Minerva. The refreshments are so much better!" 

"Yes, I saw the Joneses in Hogsmeade, remember them? Their daughter, Eleutheria, is part of this house," said a woman. "Say," she said, turning to Lily, "Have you seen her around lately? I remember her parents when we were students, right here, everyone knew those two would be together forever. Moved to California, of all places to be. Although I hear the magical part of Mount Shasta is amazing." 

"Oh, they're all at the Morgan farm, their child is one of the Friends of the Fey, as they call themselves, associating with that Faerie."

Remus, who had been scrunched down in the corner of a sofa, trying not to be seen, stood up and said, "That Faerie is one of the best students here, she tutored students in Runes and gave riding classes to anyone interested. Come on, Lily, lets go out and get some fresh air." He took her by the hand and they departed. 

They almost ran into Severus, who had staked out the entrance to the dorm. He held out a letter he'd written. Lily crossed her arms and scowled at him. "Go away, never bother me again, you creep. I'm done with you. Go back to your dark arts pals like the snake you are, don't ever speak to me again." She stormed off, leaving Remus in her wake.

Remus looked at Severus, pain flooding out of his brown eyes, in sympathy with what Severus was feeling. Remus knew what rejection was. His own parents dumped him when he was bitten. "I am so sorry, for everything, Severus," he said, voice trembling. 

"It's not your fault," Severus replied. 

"I share your pain," Remus replied. "Give me the letter, I'll make sure she gets it. Perhaps time will mend the division between you."

Severus gave him the letter, then embraced him. He knew that Remus was an "orphan" during Parents Week, he knew that the Lupin clan had disavowed him, and was in on the secret, which he would never reveal, of course.   
"I share your pain, Remus," he whispered, then spun around and apparated to the gates of Hogswart. His mother would be meeting him soon, for her conferences with his professors. She would be proud of his results. 

 

Lily decided to go shopping with her girlfriends, whose parents had given them all sorts of spending money. She had the best taste of all of them, and her advice was always welcomed. She'd been offered a summer job at the dress shoppe, and was considering it, she could use some extra cash and an employee discount. 

Remus joined the other Marauders, using their hidden path to the Shack, with some good fire whiskey to while away the hours, making their summer plans. They sprawled out in the tall grass, looking out over the lake at the castle. 

 

Alice and Eli took BlackJack and Yojimbo out for some exercise, riding along the lakeshore. The Marauders never saw what was coming. 

Eli jumped off her horse, signaling him to stay. Ordinarily, combat horses always fought with their riders, but Eli didn't want to be accused of taking unfair advantage of the Terrans. They had their wands, it was never fair, even four on one.

Peter saw Eli coming and transfigured into his animagus, running away as fast as he could until he reached the other side of a tall stone wall. He hurried to the nearest store, to establish an alibi. 

"So, it's only three on one, that's hardly fair," Alice called out. "Those poor boys don't have a chance. SURRENDER, Gryffindorks!" 

Eli landed in front of Sirius, and had buried her boot in his groin as she deflected a spell from Remus's wand that sent him slamming into the wall of the shack. Alice watched as Eli broke James's knee and took down Remus.

It was like watching a triple play, Alice thought. So fast it was over before you could take it in. She brought the horses forward and watched as Eli set the broken knee, then they rode off. 

They laughed as they stopped off at the Hogshead, where the Faerie horses were welcomed, since they were the best bouncers Abe had ever seen. People behaved when they were around. 

The Marauders arrived back at Hogwarts quickly, having summoned a boat. James's knee was already healing and the Matron admired Eli's emergency care. 

"I don't need to do anything, all you need is a night with some boneheal potions, and you'll be fine for the final Quidditch competition on the final day of Parents Week." 

Severus and Eileen had a wonderful time at the conferences, since he'd done so well, the professors took this as a testament to their skill as educators. Horace in particular basked in the reflected glory of his protege, as he now called Severus, scoring literally off the charts on the exam. 

"It's the first perfect in the history of Potions," he said. "The Ministry watchdogs checked it, over and over, and since they had taken control over the test process, there can't be any accusations of cheating! Oh, my dear, we did catch a couple of students with crib sheets, that's standard . . . but Severus and his friends were all right up, front and center."

Eileen had never had such a good time at her alma mater. Her son's academic accomplishment was noted by her former schoolmates, and she suddenly found herself besieged by requests for invitations to the house party at Hillgate Farm. 

She laughed politely, "Oh, if I could, but you know Cordelia! Send her an owl, I'm sure she'll be glad to hear from you!" 

Cordelia had already issued invitations to those she wanted, and the parents who already had them were far too well mannered to mention it to the others. 

Severus was hailed and saluted as he and his mother went to the Slytherin common room. "You beat out all of the Ravensclaws!" George said, clapping him on the back. Showed those birdbrains who's the smartest, eh?" 

Severus smiled. His mother greeted her former housemates, all of them remembering their student days, and what it was like to take the OWLS. 

Some of the Slytherins told their parents how they'd been handed the House Cup, at the expense of the Gryffindorks. They found it amusing, but were too well bred to mention it, of course. That Dumbledore played favorites and the Ministry knew of certain "pranks" that he'd covered up for his Golden Boy, Potter. 

One of them knew who the real father of Regulus Black was. Only two others knew this fact. 

The real father had two sons. One named Regulus and one named James. 

The reason for the sudden disappearance of the senior Potters was unknown to all but the two of them. Their devoted house elf and Squib nursemaid/governess assumed responsibility for son, James. He never suffered a want or a need, he'd had a charmed life, which was, in the end, his undoing. He'd never learned discernment. 

 

Lily was having second thoughts about how she'd behaved the day before. Maybe she could have been nicer, and she knew she shouldn't have hurt Sev so badly after being humiliated, but no use crying over spilt milk. It was done, James was hers, and it was time Sev moved on. On the other hand, she was unhappy that this meant she would never be able to be friends, or even talk, to Eli or the Friends. She could feel the unspoken resentment of most of the Gryffindors at her and James, for losing the House cup to Slytherin. 

She was sitting in the Commons room when Eleutheria entered. She put on her most charming smile and approached her, "Say, Jones, I hope that there's no hard feelings, James didn't mean anything."

"Get the FUCK away from me, Evans," Eleutheria growled. "And tell your little boyfriends to keep their distance." She made a banishing motion with her hand. It felt like being slapped across the face with a riding crop wrapped in velvet. It didn't hurt so much as it was insulting, deliberately so. Wandless magic? That was something you didn't see much. She couldn't do it, hardly any witches could, certainly none in school. Must be that Faerie's teaching, Lily thought to herself. Well, she'd burned her bridges with Eli, no going back. James was worth it. She had to believe that, now. Maybe everyone would calm down over the summer. She'd never run into anyone she couldn't charm. She'd wait it out. 

Eleutheria went to her room and finished packing her trunk. She didn't mind being the house pariah, they'd picked on her for all of her time here, not openly, of course. She was the HippieWitch from California, they made fun of her accent, her clothes, her family. They just didn't comprehend how little they meant to her. Their veiled insults hurt her as much as water hurt a duck. They didn't realize that she didn't want their friendship and found them to be boring, convential, and of no interest whatsoever, except the Final Fantasy band members, of course. She'd been in contact with her father about getting them a gig at the Music Festival on the Mountain that took place during July every year. 

Eli had gotten the highest total score, but she wasn't listed on the results. As was the custom, each student's name was printed in black on a background of the house colors, and they were listed in order of their total score, with the individual scores in parentheses. Needless to say, the top of the chart was almost all blue, other than Severus's green, he was number one in potions, Dark Arts, Runes, and came in second to Vivienne in Transfigurations. The bottom of the page was predominantly red. In the middle the colors were mixed yellow, red and green. 

Lily waited until the crowd in front of the list were gone before she approached. Eleutheria was the highest scoring Gryffindor, Remus was not fair behind, and Lily found her name in the middle. James was near the bottom, below him was Pettigrew, and Sirius was dead last. Lily dutifully copied down the results of the Marauders and went back to the Commons room to work on wrapping presents she was giving to her best friends in the House. 

 

Severus made several attempts to contact Lily, to beg for her forgiveness, to no avail. The Marauders were under strict orders to leave him alone. They were actually more afraid of further reprisals from Eli than anything that Dumbledore would do to them. 

Takeshi and Gwydion worked in the studio with Severus on his kendo, which helped him settle his mind after all he'd been through in that horrible week. Horace was dismayed and feeling disgraced when his party went over like a lead balloon, the parents arriving late and leaving early. Dumbledore was given the Cut Direct by all the Slytherin parents. Vivienne had put out a special edition of the high crimes and misdemeanors committed by students, proving a definite bias against Slytherin. An academic wizard in California, Zumbardo, had demonstrated with both Muggles and Wizards, that abuse of power is an inevitable result of arbitrarily dividing people into groups. The other magical academies who did not divide into competitive houses had significantly less violations of rules, regulations, mutiny and sedition. 

She and her parents were floating on a cloud of smugness. 

Most of the parents and their children decided to stay an extra day when it was announced that there would be an impromtu, all day concert on the municipal dock, near the train station. Takeshi and some of the students, as well as local musicians, were playing. Final Fantasy were the headline act, with Takeshi as their guest star. 

The Marauders left the day of the Parents dance, unnoticed, along with the Muggleborns. Lily returned to her family, to tell them she was taking the job in Hogsmeade, to earn her own keep. She soon was promoted and sent to the main salon in Diagon Alley, where she earned a good salary, plus room and board. By the end of the summer, she could stack up enough commissions to keep her in high style for the final year, no scraping for knutes anymore! 

So began the seventeenth summer of Eli le Fey, her Prince, her Friends, and those whose lives intersected theirs.


	12. Chapter 12

Cordelia's house party lasted another week. Parents from all of the houses were there, since Morgans had been in all of them over the generations. 

Eli and Severus left for Avalon, to continue their studies. Severus was advancing quickly through Alchemy, much to his grandfather's delight. Eli and Yojimbo trained at the military academy. Eli was catching up on Necromancy, studying with the Council of Crones and ArchDruids. Takeshi and Eli helped him with the basics of magical combat, close range and far range, how to focus the will to drain the opponent. 

Severus was particularly adept at using his voice and his eyes to control the will of others. This was powerful magic that would backfire if used improperly, with the wrong motives. He balanced that by learning healing spells, and protection rituals. Discernment in all things, discretion in conduct, the subtleties of learning to use magic and reason while remaining in control of the ego. 

As much as Severus loved being in Avalon, he still missed Lily, a constant ache that never completely went away. She was his oldest friend, and he couldn't let go. His mother knew what that was like. All you can do about the one that got away is wonder "what if. . ." and that doesn't get you anywhere. He was grateful for the chance he got to expand his knowlege and his magic. He just couldn't stop his mind from wandering back to when Lily was his only friend, and he was her only ally. 

Lily was having a wonderful time that summer, staying in Diagon Alley, going to the pubs with her girl friends, and working with the designers at the salon. She was designing her own wardrobe for her final year at Hogwarts, including a selection of evening robes for all occasions. She may have been Muggleborn, but she would be the best dressed Girl, take that, SlytherinSlags! James and his friends went along with the salon girls after work, to their favorite pubs. Lily didn't miss her family at all. She'd made the break. She couldn't be in both worlds, and she chose magic. It was the way of it, and she was sure they understood. 

Besides, the Marauders formed a substitute family, all of them cast adrift from relatives. They were her family and friends, she had lots of friend here, not like how it was, with only Severus who understood what she was. Well, he was being taken care of! Lily thought to herself, studying in Avalon, his papers already published in Prague! And he had Eli, just waiting for him to make a move! 

James spent the time when he wasn't courting Lily playing Quidditch in the tryout leagues in Summer Season. Sirius always went with him, sometimes Remus came along, but he preferred to stay in London, in the flat overlooking Nocturne Alley. James and Sirius joined him during his moon madness, of course. 

By mutual unspoken agreement, Severus Snape was never mentioned. 

 

Regulus Black spent the summer playing Summer League in the Nipon League, a semi-pro team made up of students from all over the world on summer break. He ran into Potter and his brother at a game. Rhiannon was there, on Reg's team, the Tigers, Potter was trying out with the Dragons. 

Sirius approved of Rhiannon and her mother, and was at his most charming in their presence. He was proud of his little brother, although he'd never admit it. He excelled in sports, in academics, and was in love with a Muggleborn witch. If only Mother knew . . . he never considered that maybe she did, and didn't care. Mother knew how to move on, and she had. She liked the weather better where she was, in the District in Monaco. England was just too damp. 

Rowan and Rhiannon knew enough about Sirius to keep him under supervision and control with various soothing spells, to keep the manic daemon from controlling him. 

James Potter was glad only Sirius was along, he got beat, and beat badly, by the Tigers. He'd noticed the iron discipline, "like flying ninjas," and realized he had a lot to learn about the game before he went pro. All of the flyers were the best of their schools, he was the proverbial big fish transfered to a big pond here. Regulus would be a force to be reckoned with on the Slytherin team, he'd improved a great deal, James noticed. And little Rhiannon was faster than thought, like lightning, good thing he wouldn't have to face her until the playoffs. 

James and Sirius went back to London as the moon waxed in the sky. They took Remus to the Shack, keeping very low profiles. Even though they knew that Eli and Severus were in Avalon, they didn't want to be caught out by any of the Morgans or their friends. James used the Cloak to sneak into town for supplies, and they ran silently to the other side of town, away from Hillgate Farm. 

 

Pettigrew spent his summer establishing contact with certain individuals, offering his services as a spy to the supporters of The Dark Lord, as Tom Riddle was spoken of. The other Marauders didn't miss him, truth be told. They weren't curious about Wormtail's whereabouts because none of them cared. Lily and the other girls working in Diagon Alley didn't like him around, either. 

James missed Lily when he was away. Sirius noticed this. He missed being around Remus, so he could relate. One day they were at James' house, looking at his parent's rooms. They left almost all of their possessions, as if they planned on returning some day. 

James opened his mother's 'lesser' jewel box. He took out a garnet necklace, the faceted stones a true dragon's blood red, forming a pattern of elaborate flowers when you looked closely. "I remember my mother wore this, I loved to watch the sunlight dance on the stones." 

"You should give it to Lily. And you should wear this," Sirius said, holding up a gold ring, with a cabochon garnet of the same hue, with a lion intagio. See, the stones match, and this is a man's ring." 

James checked the bottom of the box, and removed a garnet that matched the ring, set in a brooch that could be attached to the necklace. 

Assiya, the Squib nurse, governess, and now housekeeper, sighed. "I remember those, your father had them made when he met your mother, he was trapped in a situation with another woman, you're old enough to know more about what happened. They loved each other like they had invented love, it set up a conflict between families, you see, they had good reason to go away quickly, the only way to protect your mother was to find a new world to inhabit. For everyone's own good, they didn't leave any contact information. It was for the best. Your father left the set for you, James. To give to your beloved when the time came." 

Lily was thrilled when James presented her with the necklace and brooch.   
Lily gasped when she opened the box. Lily and James were seated on the roof garden at the Two Wizards, and she noticed the ring on his hand. "That was your father's, right? And this was your mother's? I am honored . . . " 

James grinned. "Sirius thought I should give it to you, and wear this ring, it suits us, as Best Boy and Girl, for Gryffindor!" 

"Put the necklace on me," Lily said. She felt the magic of the witch who'd owned it enter her system. 

Remus and some of her girl friends came up to meet them and watch the sun go down on the longest day. They were suitably impressed with the necklace and the brooch. 

"This would make an awesome tie clip," Remus said, holding the brooch up to the light. 

"Your birthstone," Lilith remarked. "Perfect. Those stones are incredible, the clarity, the color, just amazing." 

Lily didn't think much about her old life. She and her sister had never gotten along very well, and her parents seemed to prefer not having to explain what was wrong with their younger daughter. She'd never fit in with the children in the area. Until she transfered to Hogwarts, she'd done well in the private school her parents sent her to, in order to avoid the denizens of the public school, like that Snape boy. Her family didn't like him at all. Maybe that's why she wanted to be rid of him, he reminded her of the old life, the discarded life. 

Her new life was more than anything she could have wished for, she often thought to herself, feeling so entirely pleased with Fate. 

Cordelia was spending the entire Midsummer fortnight in Avalon, staying with her grandson and Emerald. The Hillgate Elven Society had an open house for all of their kinds, to dance with the turning of the sun. The Nisser got the horses prepared for their own Festival, honoring Epona of the North, Freya of the Vanir, the Goddesses who gave us the horse. Cordelia gave Eli a coronet, set with orange sapphires that sparkled with shades of gold and red in their depths, to honor the sun as it turned. It was made of gold from Avalon, found in the rivers beneath the waterfall, where it washed down from the mountains. The mountains were the unicorn's summer home, where it was said they communed with the Goddess who was the Mother of All, the living planet, She who has many names. 

Cordelia gave Severus orange sapphire cuff links, buttons, and clips, in honor of the holiday. Sun colors, yellow, gold, orange prevailed, as the first harvest of fruit and honey was celebrated. Music was everywhere, dancing in the streets was going on all day. 

Eli was given 72 hour leave for the midsummer night. The Friends were gathered at her flat, about to join Asimov and Metatron, joined by Rhiannon and Regulus. She'd smuggled him in via the Torayama Gate, with her father's assistance. They'd already started using the collection jars Jeanne-Marie had shown her. Rhiannon was learning the basics of the spellcraft that used the crystalized essences of life. 

Severus was amused at Rhiannon's boldness, and how clever she was to operate under the radar, undetected. She had talent as a Black Tortoise, she was told. Her mother was in the London flat, with Takeshi and Eileen going back and forth between realms. Tobias was there, and he was playing music again, his voice had retained its charm. Severus Valerius was in attendance, working with his daughter on research that they were collaborating with Horace and Severus, working independently of one another on the same research topic. 

that summer, London was full of sounds, of music, magical threads were crossing, short circuiting some times, as the inevitable conflicts arose between those who wanted power and those who had it, in the Magical and the Muggle worlds. 

It was a Fatal Flaw in the operating system of the human mind. Those who were not mindful of this always crashed and burned. 

 

At the end of the Midsummer Festival, Severus and Cordelia returned to the Farm, where Severus Valerius was enjoying the cool weather. Rome was just too hot this time of year for a man of his years. He wanted to check up on his grandson's work, and was impressed with his OWLS result. Horace was working on some potions on his own time and was looking forward to asking the Roman alchemist for advice.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Professor Uma Tlamco is based on a real witch, Uma, of Uma's Tools of Magick on Shrader near Stanyon Street in San Francisco. I never got into the HP thang because when it came out, I was hanging out with REAL witches, like Uma, and Loki, and long time Radical Faerie who helped me out like no one else in my time of troubles. The store is gone now, of course. Note that it was actually at the spot where Tlamco, a sacred spot in SF, gone for so long, almost forgotten.

Severus spent every day working in the lab, and working out, exhausting himself so he wouldn't remember his dreams. The time passed quickly and it was soon time for the First Harvest. Eli and her unit were assigned to her relative's farm near the ocean, where they were joined by Vivienne, Eleutheria, and Alice. Severus was glad to see them, to get caught up on the gossip and the Daily Profit.

Jeanne-Marie and Takeshi helped gather fish by using their animagae. The Phoenix would spot the schools of fish, Dragon would gather then and send them into the nets of the fishers. Eli dug clams with Yojimbo, and helped set up the roasting pits. The first breads were pan breads, used as plates for the roast sea food. Severus noted how they didn't waste anything; the remains of the food was composted in a process involving some sort of solar power. Terrans were just beginning to realize that you can't keep throwing things away; would they learn in time? Probably not.

 

They got the harvest sooner than usual. Eli and her Friends opted to return to Avalon, thence the Farm, to get ready for their final term. The dressmakers in the Village were finishing up with their final year embellishments, since they were allowed to wear whatever charms, talismans, & etc that they wanted. Eli was allowed to wear her athame openly, on a Sam Brown belt that also held whatever wand she was using. She'd gotten permission to use the wands made for her by the Druids, and would be allowed to carry her weapons, subject to individual approval, including Dyrnwyn.

Valerius was staying until the term began, helping Severus set up experiments, with Horace's help.

 

This term's Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, Uma Tlamco { https://sacredprecinct.org/2015/09/10/the-story-of-a-lost-race-2/ } sent Eli an owl asking her if she could bring her sword to class on the first day. She'd written extensively about legendary blades, and wanted to add a chapter on Dyrnwyn, especially the sword's defensive fire. Cordelia sent the new professor an invitation to the Farm, at her convenience, to discuss this, and what they'd been up to since last they met.

“This is the perfect place to finish the research on my next book, I can use the Hogwarts library and yours, Cordelia, then I'm going back to San Francisco, got a nice place on Shrader.”

The dinner conversation was lively, the Hogwarts staff attending getting caught up with what they'd been up to during break. After dinner, most of the group, as well as Eli, Eileen, and Severus, went to the Hogshead where Takeshi's pick up band of locals, Chaos Theory, were playing. The Village was gearing up for the school season, stocking shelves with books, supplies, sweets, and drinks.

Abe was in on what his brother was doing at the school, how he was allowing Potter and his pets to attack Severus, and indirectly, Eli, his grandniece. He liked her a lot. He promised her that he would 'discourage' certain people from his place, to reduce tension. He'd been around for a long time, he knew how things were. Eli and her Friends were old enough to need a place to go, and he wanted to have more music, rock and roll, mostly, to discourage certain 'conformist' types from hanging out.

 

Takeshi always like Abe's place, reminded him of the dives he played with The Blind Pig Blues Band. He told Abe to hire Final Fantasy to play every Friday night, for the Hogwarts final year students.

 

The first day of school, Eli rode Yojimbo to Hogwarts, bringing her sword, which she wore on her Sam Brown belt, her formal one, with the tiger beltbuckle. She sat at her usual spot for breakfast, where Severus was drilling George and Regulus on Potions. Regulus was intrigued by the sword, especially the pommel, which was a Faerie uncut diamond, the size of a man's fist.

“Is it true that can be used as a sun stone?” he asked Eli.

“Yes, it works on the same principle. It's also a scrying stone, if you know what you're doing. I'm going to show it to all of the DADA classes, you can see it up close and I'll be able to draw it.”

 

Eli showed her sword to each of the classes, Uma explaining to them the principle of the 'living metal' that it was made from.

“The flame comes on only when I am being attacked, it's actually an early warning system. Now, unless I have an enemy here, if I draw, there should be no flame. There is a psychic link between us, the sword can feel my emotions. If I get angry, or if anyone feels animosity towards me, the flame comes on. I should hope none of you ever have to see the flame.”

When Eli drew her sword, there was no flame, and the students all let out their breath.

 

“I can't pass it around, you understand,” she said. “There isn't much in your texts about this sword, other than a paragraph from WiccaPedia:

{Dyrnwyn, the Sword of Rhydderch Hael[edit]  
The Dyrnwyn ("White-Hilt") is said to be a powerful sword belonging to Rhydderch Hael,[3] one of the Three Generous Men of Britain mentioned in the Welsh Triads. When drawn by a worthy or well-born man, the entire blade would blaze with fire. Rhydderch was never reluctant to hand the weapon to anyone, hence his nickname Hael "the Generous", but the recipients, as soon as they had learned of its peculiar properties, always rejected the sword.}

 

“Dyrnwyn was taken back by the Fey and given to the original Morgan woman, Aeronwen, with a deed to the property, until we could return. She gave it to Abraxa, house elf and confidant, who hid it in the secret vault, behind the crypt.”

One of the students raised her hand. “Is it true that Excalibur is in Avalon?”  
“Why, yes, it is, in Arthur's tomb.”

“Have you ever seen it?”

“Only in my dreams.”

“Is Guinevere there?”

“Of course not, she died a Christian, the cult that forced us out of most of this realm. She was an oathbreaker, and was not of the Fey. We endangered Terrans who accepted us, so to protect them, we closed the gateways. Then, those same cultists turned on you, the witches and wizards, who were gifted in magic, forcing you into hiding. We believe that the enemy of your enemy is not your friend, and that the enemy of your friends is your enemy.”

“Note the scabbard, it is dragon hide, set in Faerie metal and gold.”

Uma gave Eli half of the class time for each of her classes, and all went well, until, of course, her class, the eighth year students. Uma was aware of the conflicts and tension between The Marauders and Eli and her Friends, and almost hoped something would happen.

She was not disappointed. Minerva had warned the Marauders about the class and suggested they might want to skip that lecture, with no penalty. The precedent had been put in place after she'd lectured a class before, which did not go over well with those who didn't like the Fey, and told their parents. No student had taken advantage of this pass; even those whose parents didn't approve were curious about Eli and her people.

Remus and Lily decided to go to class. Eli didn't actively dislike either of them. Lily was curious about the sword, and of course Remus cherished every moment he could look at her.

“We'll sit in the back, and won't ask questions,” Lily told Minerva.

“That should suffice; le Fey doesn't dislike either of you, just your friends,” Minerva said.

 Nobody noticed that Sirius and James were gone. They'd gotten the Invisibility Cloak, and were going to crash the lecture. They sneaked into the classroom when it was empty and waited for the class to enter. The class crowded up in the front, as they had anticipated. Remus and Lily were the last in, and sat at the back, two rows ahead of James and Sirius.

 

Eli knew something was wrong when she felt the sword sending her an alert. This had never happened before, since she'd never been in any conflict with it; but she was in tune to the blade and knew what was happening. She quietly told Uma, who was intrigued.

“So you can check to see who is triggering the sword. It's funny; those two Gryffindor boys aren't even here . . .”

Uma then announced that Eli would demonstrate Dyrnwyn in action. She picked up the scabbard, and pointed out the light flashes in the diamond pommel, which pointed to the corner of the room, which seemed to be empty, but of course, James and Sirius were there, huddled under the Cloak.

“This is much the same as how a sunstone works, for those of you who remember that class from two years ago,” Eli said.

Lily squeezed Remus's hand, and wrote him a note, “See? Eli doesn't think you're an enemy.”

Remus wrote back, “Despite Prof M's warning, James and Sirius are over there, under the Cloak.”

Lily rolled her eyes and shook her head as she smirked at Remus.

 

“Shall we see how the seek function works?” Eli said, drawing the sword up. A flame, just at the far edge of violet, engulfed the blade. She walked slowly past the students, towards the corner. The closer she got to the corner, the brighter the flames became. When she was still two rows from the back of the room, James took off the cloak, revealing himself and Sirius.

“How did you know we were here?” James asked, his usual insouciant smile on his face, hair mussed to perfection.

“I didn't.” Eli said, turned around, and walked back up to the front of the room, sheathing the sword. “But Dyrnwyn did.”

 

“Well, that was interesting,” Uma said.

“Would you like us to leave?” James asked.

Uma turned to Eli, who replied, “No, unless you'd rather leave. I should thank you, since I've never seen the flame before today, I haven't been in battle yet. The flame works ONLY when it's needed. Magic should not be wasted.”

 

For the rest of the class, the students asked questions, and Uma and Eli answered them.

James was impressed with Eli. He began to wish he hadn't been so harsh with her and Severus, who was sitting in the front row, an unreadable expression on his face. James had been embarrassed in front of Lily, or maybe it was Sirius, yes, that had to be it. Sure, he hated Snape, but he'd never felt any animosity towards that freaky Faerie. She kind of fascinated him, truth be told. If it weren't for Lily he'd give Snape a fight over that one, he thought to himself. He couldn't imagine what she saw in him, probably something to do with the fact his mother had been in love with her father?

 

Sirius wasn't happy. His face was dull red, he had been embarrassed in front of the whole class, again. He knew he should not have gone to the class, but convinced James to use the Cloak. Well, old Magonagal hadn't ordered him not to attend, so he wouldn't get in more trouble.

 

Eli and Severus went straight to early dinner after class. She place Dyrnwyn on the table in front of her plate, so that other students could take a close look at it. They ended up staying quite late, many students wanted to examine the sword and ask Eli more questions about it.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunstone_(medieval)

http://supernaturalcreatures.org/encyclopedia/aeronwen/  
Aeronwen, a goddess of fate, determines the outcomes of battles: she decides which side wins and which individuals survive. Aeronwen may be petitioned for safety on the battlefield. Little concrete information survives regarding Aeronwen. She may be the same spirit as the Welsh war goddess Agrona whose name derives from a root word for “carnage.” Aeronwen may or may not also be the same goddess as the Irish Morrigan.  
Color: Black Number: 3 Bird: Raven Sacred site: Glyndyfrdwy, Wales, where she had a shrine on the banks of the River Dee. The name of this location may be translated as “Black Water” or “Water of the Goddess.” Allegedly human sacrifices were offered to her: victims were drowned. Complaints by generations of churchmen affirm that the waters of Glyndyfrdwy were considered sacred long after the arrival of Christian ity. In 1400, Welsh patriot Owain Glyndwr (Owen Glendower in English) chose Glyndyfrdwy as the location where he declared himself Prince of Wales, beginning a fourteen-year rebellion against English rule.


	14. Chapter 14

17Ch14

At dinner that night, at the high table, Uma told the staff what happened in class, laughing at how Black and Potter had looked when Eli's sword outed them. Only Minerva didn't join in the amusement. She was more than a little embarrassed. Pomona raised an eyebrow, saying, “You said you would get those two under control. This time it turned out well, at least. But don't you have ANY control over Black Major?”

Minerva pursed her lips. “I try,” she said, doing all she could not to snap at Pomona. What right did she have to criticize? She was new here. She was head of Hufflepuff, where all of the nicest students tended to go, she didn't have to deal with the emotionally damaged and often foolhardy children found in Gryffindor. Minerva immediately felt ashamed of herself. Pomona was a wonderful teacher and leader. And she was too honest not to realize that she had some unresolved issues about the Snapes and the Morgans. Was she jealous of Eileen? Why, yes, she was. Eileen had been close to Takeshi in their school days, she married a Muggle and got a wonderful son out of it, whereas she, Minerva Magonagal, tried to make herself feel virtuous for not marrying a Muggle. Not that she had wanted to have a child; she did more good at the school, caring for students whose parents were not up to the task of parenting for whatever reason. She had tried to charm the Sorting Hat to put Eli in Gryffindor, and felt personally rejected when the girl was put in Slytherin. Eileen got to go to Avalon on a regular basis, she spent a lot of time on the Farm, and Minerva was now merely tolerated at the Farm and was not asked to return to Avalon, no matter how much she hinted, begged, and cajoled Cordelia.

 

Silvanus Kettleburn snorted with derisive laughter. “I've been telling you to get that pack housebroken for years, Minerva. The beasts don't like them. That's all I have to know about anyone.”

 

Horace looked amused. He'd disliked how Minerva ignored the problems her “children” were causing, like how so many parents ignored the behavioral and academic failures of their offspring. Not that he was willing to confront her himself. It wasn't worth it, and things were going that Snape boy's way. He inwardly chafed at the injustices Albus was willing to allow to the targets of those boys, mostly members of his house, but they had their own ways of leveling karma, he'd covered up for some of his students. Horace knew how to stay out of the crossfire. He was saving how he really felt for his memoirs.

 

Albus changed the subject.

 

Remus was mad at Sirius and gave him the silence treatment at dinner. Sirius knew that meant A Talk was coming as soon as they were alone.  
“What were you thinking?” Lily asked James.

“Hey, I was curious about her sword. Pretty impressive, eh?”

“Yeah,” Remus sighed. “I like the new professor.”

“So do I, She has a lot of experience in the New World, even took down a Skinwalker, I'm told.” Lily added. “She's keeping Eli and her Friends up close, she knows Jones' parents, they've worked together on the West Coast.”

“And she's friends with the senior Morgan woman, she knows everyone. My mother hated her,” Sirius said. “Which means she's probably amazing.”

Lily giggled. “Yes, she is.”

 

Uma watched the students from her seat in the center of the High Table. Eli and Severus sat beneath them, backs to the wall. The Marauders were in the far corner, close to an exit. She smiled to herself. She loved to work with bullies. She'd read the reports sent to the Druids about Incidents, and could read Minerva like her own grimoire. The rumors she'd heard about this place were true; she'd been warmed about the problems at Hogwarts by other academics. It was only for one term, then she'd be back in the Rim of Fire zone. She didn't care for the available texts approved by the Ministry and planned to go “off book” and use other sources.

 

During the first week of classes it was announced that Firenze would be teaching a class, one night per week, weather permitting, to observe stars and the basics of divination. The class was by invitation only, the professors submitted the names of students who qualified. Eli and the Friends were all invited, so were Remus, George and Regulus, and about a dozen other students in their 7th and 8th years.

 

There was an expected backlash by certain parents about exposing their children to one of those “inferior” creatures, and when it was pointed out that none of their children were invited, and that this was a non credit course, those complaining parents accused Albus of being elitist, banning their children from education.

 

You can't win with some parents, Horace realized, deflecting the complainants deftly by sharing gossip about the society dames not present. Horace was the Ultimate Party Witch, the Wizard Host with the Most.

 

Albus had a sense of humor and told the parents that Firenze was more than welcome to consider allowing any students not already invited if the student and parents were to sit down and talk to Firenze in person, something they all would never do, of course. Checkmate.

 

DADA became Remus's favorite class, not for the subject, but because it was the only time when Eli and her Friends sat up front, on the professor's request, so he could watch her. Sirius and James had enough fear of the American professor not to test her patience and either behaved or cut class. Lily and Remus kept them up to date on the lectures, and Uma didn't miss their presence.

 

Eleutheria suddenly became more popular, since Uma's classes were appreciated; she could teach to the student's levels, and Eleutheria had known the American witch all her life.  With the 8th year class, she was allowing individuals to explore those areas of magic that would help them in figuring out where they wanted to go after Hogwarts. 

 

Remus wanted to study the rituals and potions of the voudou healers, as well as any helpful information about the loup garou. They had conscious control over their transformations, they were not slaves to the moon as he was. Uma knew of Remus's condition, and sympathized. She simply didn't care for the Ministry's policies, especially regarding education. She arranged for Madame Elle to give a guest lecture about vodou practices in Haiti, how to protect yourself from those who would harm you. She agreed with Uma that it's best to be prepared, and it's better to avoid conflict, but when attacked, destroy by whatever means necessary your opponent, so that they cannot harm another. It is the nature of those touched by the daemons to be destructive and inflict unnecessary pain.

 

_From WiccaPediae Spirits[edit]_   
_Vodouisants believe in a Supreme God called Bondye, from the French bon "good" + Dieu "God".[29] When it came in contact with Roman Catholicism, the Supreme Creator was associated with the Christian God, and the loa associated with the saints._   
_Loa[edit]_

_A large sequined Vodou "drapo" or flag by the artist George Valris, depicting the veve, or symbol, of the loa Loko Atison._   
_Since Bondye (God) is considered unreachable, Vodouisants aim their prayers to lesser entities, the spirits known as loa, or mistè. The most notable loa include Papa Legba (guardian of the crossroads), Erzulie Freda (the spirit of love), Simbi (the spirit of rain and magicians), Kouzin Zaka (the spirit of agriculture), and The Marasa, divine twins considered to be the first children of Bondye.[30]_   
_These loa can be divided into 21 nations, which include the Petro, Rada, Congo, and Nago.[31]_   
_Each of the loa is associated with a particular Roman Catholic saint. For example, Legba is associated with St. Anthony the Hermit, and Damballa is associated with St. Patrick.[32]_   
_The loa also fall into family groups who share a surname, such as Ogou, Ezili, Azaka or Ghede. For instance, "Ezili" is a family, Ezili Dantoand Ezili Freda are two individual spirits in that family. Each family is associated with a specific aspect, for instance the Ogou family are soldiers, the Ezili govern the feminine spheres of life, the Azaka govern agriculture, the Ghede govern the sphere of death and fertility._   
_https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haitian_Vodou_

_A bokor is a sorcerer or magician who casts spells on request. They are not necessarily priests, and may be practitioners of "darker" things, and are often not accepted by the mambo or the houngan. Bokor can also be a Haitian term for a Vodou priest or other practitioner who works with both the light and dark arts of magic.[citation needed] The bokor, in that sense, deals in baka' (malevolent spirits contained in the form of various animals).[40]_   
_ibid_

 

Uma called Remus and Sirius to her office after class. Madame Elle was there. “I know what you are, my son,” she said. She picked up his hand and smiled at him. “I'm sorry I have no cure for you, since it's not the same, your affliction is caused by a virus, I think the Muggles call it? And you have no control over it, that seems to be the problem. We do have some medicines that can help you, we're working with Continental healers, you know.”

She turned to Sirius. “You are a troubled man, you need to clean out your psyche, some might say drive out the daemons within, I'll leave some instructions on that with Uma. You know, technically, you're a loup garou, and shame on you, not registering with your Ministry!” She wrote down a name and address on a slip of paper and handed it to Sirius. “It's the name of a friend of mine in New Orleans, in the magical quarter, you know it?”

He nodded. “You're not going to tell anyone you know about us?”

Uma laughed.

 

“you can't keep secrets from witches, young man! Don't worry, no one is going to rat you out,” Madame Elle giggled. “Your Ministry is so obsessed with controlling everyone, they are so full of themselves they feel that they have stronger magic than anyone else, and are so arrogant they think that no one is on to their nonsense! I am going to be glad to get out of here, I feel stifled, like they're looking over my shoulder all the time.”

 

Uma nodded. “I agreed to one term, one term only. Mostly because Cordelia offered me a place to stay and finish my book.

 

Madame Elle got up. “I am off to Potions, Horace asked me to help with his datura lecture, working on some potions he got from a Dine practitioner.”

 

After Elle shut the door behind her, Uma cleared her throat. “I've been made aware of certain conflicts between students, and I should let you know that Eli and Severus have not spoken a word to me about either of you. I also know that Eli officially called you out, and I would suggest that you and your friend James behave like gentlemen in my class, and never get her angry with you again. You would have been expelled for your 'pranks' in any of the New World academies, and Durmstrang would have confiscated your wands, permanently. And by the way, I think that Quidditch is a ridiculous game. Be seeing you.” She rose, pointed to the door, which opened. Her familiar, a Siamese cat, jumped on the desk with a loud vocalization, unmistakable in its imperative tone to get the hell outta here. They left. Neither were taking Potions in the final year, their grades hadn't been good enough. This gave Remus more time to work in his other skills and interests. Defensive magic, researching wandcraft and inventing new spells fascinated him.

 

Horace sat Eli and Severus down in his office. “Now, I know of the conflicts between you and certain others, but that doesn't give you an excuse to skip my Fall party. It's important for everyone to learn how to politely avoid those, who for whatever reason, you dislike. The Ministry, for example, is full of ancestral feuds, personal conflicts, that can't be let out in polite company, so it's imperative that students about to enter the world outside these walls learn discretion, how to deftly and artfully move around social quicksand . . . Eli, would you ask Lady Cordelia to loan you her Fire Dress? She wore that to the Harvest Festival the year she graduated.”

 

Horace met with Lily, Remus, and James, telling them that this was a test in how they could overcome the social problems caused when forced to be around those you disliked. As adults, they would be expected to use proper etiquette, humor, and discretion. Especially if you wanted a job at the Ministry or wanted favors from them.

 

This was one of Horace's larger parties every year, to introduce the younger students to those elder students who could show them how to behave in social settings. He taught them about using the proper color schemes in their outfits, depending on the season, the sort of festival. This put the person in the proper mindset for the event, and never clash with the colors of the decorations. Attention to detail was so important when you're on display.  He made sure all of the female students knew of the color scheme, even providing swatches.  

 

This also reduced the color coded partisanship of the houses.  He placed the students together from all of the houses based on shared interests.  The Maurader table was set with Quidditch afficienados, at Eli's table, those with interest in magical creatures.  

 

Cordelia smiled when she heard Horace's request. She and Eli went to the wardrobe storage room to get the dress, made of layers of the sheerest silk tulle, in shades of red, orange, and yellow, that fluttered in the slightest movement of air like flames. The ballerina length skirt was “petals” of the tulle, the bodice laced up the back, with sleeves made of the same overlapping petal shapes. She wore dangling earrings of fire opals set in gold.

 

Severus wore a silk twill formal robe with underjacket, a silk neckcloth held in place with a stock pin made of a dragon carved from a fire opal.

 

The Slytherins invited, including George and Regulus, went to the hall in a group, the girls resplendent in family jewels, generally too large to be in the best of taste, but quite impressive. Horace had set up tables with 13 seats per table, the head of the table was a staff member. At the foot was a place for Horace, who flitted from table to table, keeping track of the students' behavior. The wait staff were the Slytherin first and second year students who were learning how to set a proper table, a skill most of them had never even considered.

“Before you know it you will have your own household to operate, and you have to start at the beginning,” he told them. They knew the only way to make it to the inner circle was to be agreeable to his requests. Horace was arguably the best connected of all of the professors. He was also considered to be the best when it came to giving the students lessons in manners and deportment.

 

Uma sat at the head of the table occupied by Eli and the Friends. Horace had cleverly arranged the room with velvet drapes and plants from the greenhouse set in large bronze cauldrons, sprays of oak and maple leaves turning color, breaking the large, open room into more intimate eating areas. There was a guitar player in the corner playing classical music.

Severus even managed to forget that Lily was sitting with James in the same room. He was learning how to control his feelings better. It wasn't that the pain went away, he just learned how to work around it, even ignoring it when his mind was occupied.

 

Eli had a copy of the West Coast news, including sports, Muggle and Magical, fall was playoff time.  Eleutheria and Uma were both Giants fans, so they and Eli were trying to explain the sport to the others at the table, conjuring tiny players to illustrate the concepts and the rules. Eli loved the Giants as well as the Hanshin Tigers.

“The fans in Hanshin, well, all of the fans in Nipon League are a bit on the obsessed side, but in a Japanese way, it's hard to describe how the fan vibe differs from baseball in North America. It's like how magic is different, I guess,” Eli said.

Alice nodded. “Frank was explaining how his time in Japan expanded his ability. And you grew up in Avalon, which is so different from the magic here.”

Vivienne added, “Magic is taught differently at Beaubatons and Durmstang, perhaps that's why so many people prefer to marry off their purebreds to continental purebreds, they seem to end up with enhanced abilities . . . hybrid vigor, right?”

“Well, of course, considering the low inbreeding coefficient in Terrans.”

 

The Marauders sat at a table in front of the French doors that opened on to a balcony, where the waxing half moon shown in the sky, reflected in the lake. Lily was not her best in autumn colors, and chose to wear a flowing white wrap top over a full length “pencil” skirt with a long slit up one side of a brocade of autumn leaves in bronze and gold on a dragon's blood red silk, matching the garnet necklace and brooch she wore at the V of her blouse.

 

James was charmed beyond himself that night. They danced, alone, on the balcony, the moon shining down on them.

Underneath the table, Remus and Sirius held hands, as their dates played footsie with each other. Until they were out of the school, those who were gender outlaws kept it to themselves. They had their own cliques, of course, with a great deal of overlaps with other cliques. Everyone at the table was charmed by the sight of James and Lily dancing together, so romantic.

 

For after dinner entertainment, Horace had arranged for some of his friends in the opera magi guild put on a performance with some of the talented students. One of Professor Flitwick's favorites, Fidelia Jagu, had been invited to study in Vienna over the break. She was staying at school only to keep her parents happy.

 

Horace was pleased with the evening. He knew that everyone there would remember the evening, since Fidelia was so obviously a superstar, with a voice that could sink ships, that could silence a siren, she could cast an enchantment over her audience. His genius was to make connections, to tell someone who should know about someone else, a social matchmaker of the finest kind. He collected people. Not for power, just for the personal pleasure. That was his greatest magic. He preferred to live with minimal conflict and maximum pleasure, and found that being generous paid off well in the long run. He was aware of the gathering storm in the Ministry; after all, he'd known about Tom Riddle longer than anyone.

 

Tom hadn't known of the wards placed on the school to prevent, shall we say, “fraternization” between staff and students. When he tried to seduce Horace, he'd triggered a reaction that placed him under surveillance when in proximity to an adult. It was an unpleasant memory, one Horace had stored in his journals, written when the events happened, then secured and blocked.

 

Albus protected the boy, insisting that he'd probably been abused in that orphanage. Horace knew better. The boy was a predator. Children his own age were no challenge and could get him nothing, so he didn't bother going after them anymore. He craved power.

 

Horace remembered that Albus had been the best of friends with Gellert, then betrayed him. It would seem that Albus either had no sense of discernment or he was just as dark as those he fought.


	15. Samhain 1977

17ch15 Samhain

Cordelia planned an extended Samhain party, following the same schedule as Avalon. The 31st was Monday, so the party began on Saturday and went until sunset on Tuesday. Guests were coming and going during that time period, including most of the Hogwarts staff, Since Rory Gallagher was in Japan for the week, Takeshi arranged to bring Eli, Jeanne-Marie, Severus, Emerald and Eleutheria to a concert in Osaka the Friday after classes. They used the Avalon gateway system, from the Farm to Avalon thence Torayama and the portkey to Kyoto, then the train to Osaka.

 

Rory was planning a six week gig in San Francisco and Eleutheria promised she'd be there as often as possible, and her parents would be there even more. He would be doing some recording as well, hinting to Takeshi it would be nice if he could drop in to the sessions.

“You get around almost as much as me,” Rory said to Takeshi backstage.

“I remember playing in San Francisco, at the Saloon, at Bouncers, Emerald, you were there . . . should we take stop by?”

Emerald smiled. “Yes, that would be great, why not invite Tobias and Eileen? They loved that place.”

She turned to Rory, before he could ask, “Tobias doesn't play anymore, but I think it might be good for him to take it up again.”

Rory was seated between Emerald and Jeanne-Marie, “the two most beautiful women I have ever met,” as he said. He'd had a crush on Jeanne-Marie from the day he'd met her, here in Japan. But she seemed so above him, his “slumming angel” as he referred to her. She often attended his concerts in France and the Low Countries, after she started teaching at Beauxbatons. She intimidated him, she was too perfect, not only that, she was so tall. Rory was a bit self conscious about his height.

Eli knew how Rory felt about her sister. Jeanne-Marie knew, and didn't want to have just a fling with him, he'd want more and she simply couldn't subject him to conform to her world. It wasn't fair to Terrans in the long run unless they were willing and able to leave Terra behind them, and Rory couldn't do that. The Statute made life complicated.

 

Eleutheria and Gerry stood to the side, watching Rory sneaking peeks with puppy dog eyes at Jeanne-Marie, Eli doing the same to Rory, Severus and Takeshi chatting about San Francisco.

 

“So, Severus, I'll take your parents to San Francisco, we can stay for a while, maybe even see if we can trace our missing drummer.”

“My parents will be glad to see you,” Eleutheria said. “They've got a original earthquake shack out by the ocean, near Sutro Heights. Cold and windy but quite lovely inside. We use it when we go to the City. We can come on the weekends, wouldn't want to miss it.”

“San Francisco has changed a lot, not all for the better,” Takeshi said. “Maybe it's me getting older but I don't think so.” He went to tell Eli of the plan.

Gerry turned to Eleutheria, “What do you think of the drama? Rory has a crush on Jeanne-Marie and Eli has a crush on Rory, I wonder how that works . . .”

“Oh, Eli's not really jealous; she knows her sister is so gorgeous. I asked her about that, remember the night Rory kissed her? 'Older Sister saw him first, so I couldn't blame them,' something like that. Jeanne-Marie is career and education driven, I don't suppose either of them could adapt to being a couple.”

 

The group returned to the Farm after the concert, where the three day celebration was going on, discussing the San Francisco trip.

 

The next day Takeshi called Tobias and told him about the invitation to stay in San Francisco. “You need a vacation, and things are different in the Rim of Fire, they allow more mingling, the magic people there don't isolate themselves. They don't advertise or proselytize, most people just don't even believe what they are.”

Tobias eventually agreed that to go to San Francisco. He was interested in finding their missing drummer, not wanting to go watch Rory play. It still hurt to watch others doing what he wanted to be doing. After all this time.

 

Eli and the Friends spent Samhain at the Farm, with some of the students she'd taught how to contact their deceased family members and loved friends who had died. On October 30, the rituals had begun in Avalon, and Eli had delivered the messages from the students to the temple of Hekate. `

“Remember, they may not be interested, they may have reincarnated already, or they may have gone up to the next level,” she'd warned them.

 

The generational mix of the Samhain party at the Farm contributed to the energy level, there was dancing, singing, and eating, and the guestrooms were shared by those who needed privacy. This was the one night of the year where Terrans could have sex with the returned ones, and since they had a body, they had the usual desires of the flesh. They could not impregnate nor be impregnated, of course, unless they had stored some insemination crystals, males could be fathers after death, which was very rare. Most souls when choosing their parents prefer to have both alive. Those souls being sent back for further life lessons don't have a choice, of course.

 

 

None of the students at Hogwarts and hardly anyone else in the vicinity of Hogsmeade had ever seen a Dementor. They were whispered about, and even in the DADA class not spoken of openly. Eli had heard of them, due to Xeno Lovegood, who had published some articles about them, much to the displeasure of the Ministry, and the dismay of family and friends, who knew he would now be targeted by a member of that clan of beings, who absorbed the souls of those they captured. Most believed that the Dementors could destroy the soul, but Eli knew that was not the case.

As far as any of the Druids and Ovates could theorize, Dementors were a life form that was similar to daemons in that they did not have souls. They “ate” souls, and as long as they existed, the souls were trapped in limbo. They could not be contacted by necromancers. Hekate despised the beings, since the souls belonged to her for processing, and the others of her kind for guidance and direction in future existences.

 

No one in the Wizengamot would talk about whose idea it was to use Dementors as prison guards and bounty hunters. Those who supported this system proclaimed that those sent to prison deserved it, and no humans could be trusted around those deviants who could suborn, seduce and enchant them. So witches and wizards would be kept from the Dark Side out of fear of the consequences of being caught. That was the theory, anyway. It didn't seem to stop many of the bad sort, and the many miscarriages of justice promulgated by that congregation touched nearly every wizarding family. Everyone knew there were problems but no one was willing to risk the wrath of the warlocks.

When prisoners were released they were often hidden away, often by their own request. They slept wrapped in silence spells to protect cohabitants from the screams caused by their dreams.

“You're changed forever, you can't forget any of it, the dreams are more real to me than sitting here with you,” a former prisoner told Xeno. “It's a life sentence, even if you do get out. Most die there, you know. They don't bring out the bodies. They just let them rot in situ. There are rats . .. something like rats . . . they eat the bodies. Eventually. You can smell the bodies . . . you can hear the rats eating them. They seem to prefer something rotted . .. they leave live prisoners alone, so that's a blessing, I always thought. And the dementors . .. they loved to torment us . . . they would . . .they would touch us, breath on us, whisper obscenities to us . . . drove me quite mad.”

 

Xeno had found few former prisoners, and half of them wouldn't speak to him at all. He'd been warned by friends with the Aurors that high level wizards disproved of Xeno's story and wanted him to “respect the confidentiality of the prisoners and their families” and stop asking so many questions.

 

The Unspeakables wanted Xeno silenced. So they set him up for ambush, sending him an owl from someone who claimed they had inside information about corruption within the Ministry, asking him to meet the informant at the Convergence right outside the Farm.

The Unspeakables brought a team of Dementors and lay in ambush.  They laughed about it.  "If he wants to know about Dementors he should get some first hand experience, eh?"  

 

Xeno was chatting with Eli, Severus, and Vivienne when the time for the meeting came near. He excused himself, but Eli insisted on going with him to give a present to Hekate, whose holiday this was, after all.

The Unspeakables didn't understand. They didn't believe in the Old Gods, the ancient powers, didn't realize that they were being watched. Eli knew what was happening. She'd been in training for this. The Dementors didn't know she could 'detect' them as easily as she could a daemon, and thought they were safe on the outside of the Morgan land.

Eli put herself and her friends under a Shadow and followed Xeno. He immediately realized he'd stepped into a trap, and had his wand out, summoning his Patronus, a fox, at the gang of Dementors closing in on him fast. The Patronus allowed him time to leap backwards, and the Dementors were foolish enough to attack on the Farm. The Unspeakables tried to run, but the Goddess Herself, with her black hounds, were on them before they could hit their stride. They disappeared, never to be seen again. Or spoken of.

How dare they try something at Her altar? She looked out for Her children.

 

As soon as the Dementors crossed onto Morgan territory, Eli turned into her animagus and leaped on the back of one of them, and Severus drew his wand to manifest his patronus. He'd been practicing since he was in his first year, but didn't tell anyone except Eli and his mother.

Eli bit through the back of the neck of the creature, which screamed in a way that brought the party to a halt. It was paralyzed, until she tore its throat out. Yojimbo charged to the scene, striking a Dementor in the chest, then ripping its throat out, to the spine, then stomping on the head until it was a foul mess on the ground. Vivienne had never had success in summoning her patronus until then, when on the first try, a silvery raven. The surviving creatures fled and disappeared into the darkness.

 

As the Dementors died, the souls they had stolen were released, in a burst of psychic energy. Eli saw their spirits; they gathered around her to offer her thanks for releasing them. The people who ran to the rescue when they heard the scream weren't quite sure what was happening at first. They'd all been told that Dementors couldn't be killed, yet there were too obviously very dead ones. They'd all been told that once a Dementor took your soul it was lost, but they'd just seen? Felt? Somehow they knew what had happened. But then, everyone invited to that party was a talented magi, not to mention the returned souls for the Samhain celebration.

 

Uma and Cordelia were among the first to appear.

“So that's a Dementor,” Uma said. “So the text is wrong, they can be killed. And they can't destroy souls, just hold them from moving on. Interesting.”

 

“I suppose I'd better summon some Aurors and make an official report, and complaint, since the Ministry insists that Dementors are under their control,” Cordelia said.

 

Xeno laughed. “You can bet they will insist this didn't officially happen, Cordelia.”

 

Vivienne was thrilled that she'd finally gotten her Patronus to appear, just when it was most needed. She ran to Severus, saying, “Did you see that? A raven! And yours is a doe! Can you believe it? We beat DEMENTORS!”

“You were always the best with a wand, Viv,” Severus smiled. “Have you been practicing on your own?”

She nodded. “Alice and Eleutheria are gonna be so mad they missed this!”

 

The Aurors arrived almost as soon as they were summoned, as if they had been lying in wait for the call. They immediately transported the bodies of the Dementors and asked that until the investigation was complete that they not mention this to anyone not present.  
Eli leaned over and whispered to Severus, “Let the coverup begin!”

He laughed. “You need a drink, I can smell that creature's blood on your breath.”

She spat on the ground. “That was just about the worst taste I have ever experienced or ever want to. Of all times to be without my sword.”

 

Cordelia came up to Eli and handed her a chalice. “Couldn't help but overhear that.” Rinse and spit first.”

 

The firewhisky cleaned her palate immediately. “That's much better.”

 

Cordelia held out a silver basin of fire whiskey for the horse.  

 

Severus scratched Yojimbo under the chin. “That was good work, pony.”

 

Yojimbo snorted back in response, stamping his hoof for emphasis.

 

The horse reached over and shoved Eli's shoulder with a derisive noise.

 

“Yeah, I know, I should have let you carry Dyrnwyn,” she said. “Won't happen again.”

 

The remainder of the holiday was without incidents. Cordelia was outraged at how her property was invaded. Xeno was shaken badly by the experience, but after a stiff drink of absinthe was able to laugh about it.

“The best story of my life and I can't officially write about it. I suppose I can write some 'fantasy fiction' about it and change the names to protect the innocent.”

 

 

Albus was summoned by the Minister and told to silence all of the Hogwarts students and staff at the Farm for Samhain, and that the incident was not to be discussed on the campus.  They could not take any action against Eli for the 'alleged' killing, since whatever they were (and since this was Samhain, who knows, it could have been some partycrashers in Dementor costumes) were on private property, committing an illegal attack on a private Wizard.  

Uma was outraged, amused, and not surprised when Albus told her about the ban of discussing the Dementor incident to her class.  "Since there won't be any charges, there won't be any publicity.  

“So ironic, I see a Dementor, the closest thing they have to daemons in this zone, die, contradicting the text I'm supposed to teach and I can't even tell them about it ….”

“All they need to know at this point is that a Patronus will protect them, and maybe only Faeries can kill them, so why even mention this . . . I know I can't stop you from publishing when you return to San Francisco.”

She rolled her eyes, nodded, and took her leave. She walked to class that morning shaking her head.


	16. If you're going to San Francisco

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rory Gallagher is staying in SF for recording and performing, allowing the Snapes and Takeshi to find their lost drummer. Eli and the Friends take long weekends

Takeshi, Emerald, Eileen and Tobias took a private jet to San Francisco the day after the end of the Samhain festival, not as a result of the incident; he'd already been sent to the Ring of Fire with some paperwork which he would deliver personally to the San Francisco embassy. Because of Tobias, they couldn't use portkeys. 

“It's so annoying, that Statute, we're working on finding loopholes,” Takeshi sighed. The Morgan family had a lot of “MuggleMoney” thanks to wise investments over the time since the Statute. The jet was shared, like the limo, could manipulate certain parameters of time and space as needed. “I can take you across the planet in this plane so long as we don't use any of the 'special features' so we have to waste so much fuel . . . but you're worth it, Toby.”

 

Tobias smiled. No use resenting the special privileges of the magical people, he just wished he didn't drag his wife, son and the best friend he had left, down to “muggle” level. Wasn't their fault. And really, he missed his old pal, the drummer . . . they'd grown up together. Tobias had known about his friend's deepest secret. 

 

Tobias met Takeshi on the streets of London. Tobias had been earning money as a busker, playing his guitar, when Takeshi walked by with his cherished Gibson acoustic. He introduced himself, took out his guitar, and they played together for hours. They attracted attention, and a lot of money. Tobias offered Takeshi half of the take, which was refused. “No, I just want to work with you sometime!” 

Tobias suggested they go to where he was staying, with other musicians, “It's an old madhouse, made with soundproofed rooms for studios,” Tobias said. “I just came up with my friend, he's a drummer.”

Both men were fans of American blues and rockabilly, as it was called, both loved Wanda Jackson. Takeshi had spent time in San Francisco where all of the “black” musicians played in the Fillmore, blues, jazz, and what remained of the 'big bands' 

 

The building was in better shape inside than out. “My friend is a good carpenter, he's helping fix the place up. Living space is a bit primitive but none of us can cook much anyway.” 

 

His friend was a short, muscular man with shiny dark red hair in corkscrew curls. He had posters of Gene Krupa behind his drum kit. 

 

Neville showed up later. He worked in his father's law office. He'd had a lot of musical training growing up, his mother was a violinist with the London Symphony. He could play bass, keyboards, saxophone, violin, even the harp. He was tall, with dark blond hair and Caribbean blue eyes. He was also happily bisexual and had already been “working” with the drummer. Not exactly love, it was more polyamorous, and very select. Both men like a bit of variety. In moderation, of course. 

“We should start a band, we've got a blond, two brunettes, and a fabulous redhead!” Neville said as they were smoking hash after jamming. 

That was the day that the Blind Pig Blues Band began. So many years ago, Tobias thought as he looked out the window as the jet soared over the Rocky Mountains on its way west, racing the sun. 

 

Students who'd done well in the OWLS were given as much free time as they liked, as long as they could keep up with classwork and submit their own research projects and experiments in spellcraft and potions. Classes were broken up into small study groups and had to present their research at the end of the semester. Eli and the Friends skipped classes until Thursday. 

Eli and Vivienne were writing about rock and roll music, for Muggle Studies and Musicology and Magic course. Eli was well versed in how music and dance could be used in ritual magic, it was an integral part of collective spellcraft of all kinds. They would join the group in San Francisco using the Portkeys to get to the cottage on the cliffs.

 

The jet stopped at the Oakland airport because it was smaller and they attracted less attention than the San Francisco airport. They took a cab to San Francisco, all the way out Geary, turning on an alleyway near the Veteran's Hospital. They went to a doorway set in a wooden privacy fence, using the key sent to them. Tobias wasn't too surprised to see a passageway to a yard, planted in a garden, around a fountain, in front of a small house. The inside was far more spacious than he could have imagined; the house appeared to be built into the ground and the hill behind it. It was a three room shotgun, the kitchen was at the entrance, then two rooms with an enclosed loft over the middle room. The house had two more stories down the hill, using the native serpentine set in concrete and planted with native flora. 

“We've got plenty of space,” Anaisa Jones said to Emerald. “There's floo powder on the fireplace,” she said, pointing out a large fireplace made of dark grey granite. There was a picture window in the room furthest west of the ocean down the steep slope. They looked at the fog, just barely able to hear the sea lions barking on Seal Rock, and the foghorns singing their songs.

“And here are some rail passes. You can ride any train anywhere with these …. got them from a friend who's a beat and worked for the railroad . . . .”

Tobias smiled. “I love the Coast Starlight. Remember when we rode it up and down for a week, stopping in San Francisco every lap. I'd like to do that again, Eileen. After we find my drummer.”

“We have a lead on him. Loki, one of the Radical Faeries, knows who he is. His name is now Belenus, and he's up north.” 

 

“I'd like to go find . . . Belenus as soon as possible. Takeshi has the paperwork to give him his share of the royalties, I can take it if you'd rather stay here, you and Emerald can keep an eye out for the kids, they're old enough to be on their own, but they're in unfamiliar territory.”

“I'd rather go up north with you, the kids will be fine, won't they, Eileen?” 

Eileen nodded. “I'm going along, I always liked him.” 

Emerald removed a flat package from her baggage, and handed it to her hostess. 

“A Faerie mirror!” 

Emerald smiled. “Yes, I'll leave some instructions, you can use it for scrying, communications, a picture album, lots of things.”

 

“Here's your charm, it's for those who are not initiates.”

“Oh, my MugglePass?”

“We don't like to use that word here … there really is no word for it in many cultures. It's just that some of us have certain talents. Like you have with the guitar.”

“HAD, you mean.”

“You chose to stop playing, yes, I know, things happened and you were blocked. The talent is still inside. When you have a chance to let it out again, it will be there, you will have lost a lot of technique, but that comes back quickly. The muscles, the nerves, remember.” 

 

“This place is magnificent,” Tobias said. Flanking each side of the fireplace was a wide window, with a deep sill, with pillows making the sills somewhere to curl up with a book. The fog had cut off the view as the foghorns blew their sad melody. 

“There are Fast Passes for MUNI in the bowl next to the key hook. I've got to get back to the mountain, I'll see you next week.”

 

With a pinch of floo powder Anaisa was gone. 

 

 

The Friends were looking forward to weekends in San Francisco. 

Eleutheria was to be their guides. Eli had been to the City for baseball games and ballet. She didn't like the direction SFB was taking under its new artistic director, but the trip to the Opera House was worth putting up with ballets in questionable taste and choreographic talent. They decided on a walking tour of the hills of San Francisco, starting at the Temple site, near where Professor Uma Tlamco was setting up her store. 

“They almost killed all the mojo by building over all the water, sealing off the Earth with concrete and asphalt,” she explained. 

That Friday after their last class, they floo'd to the Farm with their weekend supplies, went through the hillgate to Avalon, thence the Mt Shasta gate, down the mountain to catch the Coast Starlight to San Francisco. 

Vivienne had been kept somewhat sheltered growing up, and wasn't used to rubbing elbows with “Muggles,” knowing that word was not used in polite company in this Ring of Fire District. She approved of the “mingling,” it just wasn't right, apartheid never is, really. Of course, at this time, on the West Coast, the odd names, mannerisms, and clothing weren't outre at all. They fit in well. They smoked a lot of hash in between the cars, sharing with the people they'd met. 

 

When they got to the house in Sutro Heights, the adults had already gone up north to meet up with Belenus. They said they'd be back eventually. 

The group settled in, watching the fog blowing past the windows, as the foghorns sang in the mists. 

 

The next day they went to Uma's place on the floo, where they met a man named Loki.

“You're Eli and you're Severus, I met your parents day before yesterday. I'm one of the Faeries, the Radical Faeries, I know Belenus, they went to go see him. He's up north at our camp. Now, introduce me to your friends, and let me see your fabulous Faerie eyes!”

Eli laughed and took off her tinted glasses. A cat sidled up to Severus, where the altar had been set up. He scratched her behind the ears. \

After the introductions had been made, Loki told them what happened the Belenus, why he'd disappeared. “He came out to San Francisco with Neville, where he met up with some people known from the tour the Blind Pig Band had worked with. They caught a ride on Ken Kesey's bus, and dropped out of that scene when they came to a town on the coast, up north, near Mount Shasta. They met some witches, male and female (they didn't use the word wizard), who were having a festival, and they stayed. This was the group that eventually became the Radical Faeries. 

“Neville wanted to stay, but said he had to go back, tell his family and get all the legal paperwork handled, his father did that so well. And then, before he could go back, there was the accident. Belenus fell apart, his grief was so overwhelming. The witches saved him. He thought he'd lost his only friend,” Loki said in a soft voice, looking at Severus with his deep, dark, brown eyes. “He thought there could never be a love so strong. But he healed, he loved again, and what's more, he is loved. Well, I must get back to my work.”

“Can we help?” asked Eleutheria. 

“No, it's a one person job, you go show your friends the Hills.”

 

They went on their long walk, trying to feel the remnants of the magic that had been buried, sometimes they would get a whiff of amber and dragon's blood, feel the energy lines. This was strongest on Nob Hill, at Grace Cathedral.

“It's built over a spring, one of the most sacred springs of the land, this is where all the energy comes into the the earth beneath,” Eleutheria said, as they drank from an old drinking fountain in the small park across the street. Alice noted that the Masonic Temple was right across the street.

“Yes, they get it, so many people feel magic but it's schooled out of them,” Alice said. “They are drawn to the power, but can't understand it.”

“Some of them actually find their way to Avalon,” Eli said. “Invitation only,” she smiled.

“It's a lot more inclusive in this District,” Eleutheria said. “I was a bit put off by the apartheid in Britain. I mean, that's why my parents moved out here. We're all the same species, more or less, right?”

Eli nodded. “All sentient creatures are related, somewhere in the evolutionary chain, you have to treat them as you would wish to be treated yourself.” 

 

Belenus was thrilled when he found out that Takeshi, Emerald, Tobias, and Eileen were coming to meet him. He loved them all dearly, but he simply could not go back to England. His life was here now, with the other Faeries. He'd never caught on to their secret magical identities, but somehow, he knew. He felt it, just hadn't had the words until the witches on the seacliff rescued him. 

The Faeries decided to have a music festival in their meeting lodge to honor their guests. Their compound was fitted into the woods, like the homes in Avalon, dug into the earth and the hillside. Their main hall was like a Bucky ball built of wood and stone, with living plants growing on the interstices of the geodesic dome. The acoustics were excellent. 

The floor had a circle in the middle, made of silvery wood. There were also two crescent moons of the same wood set in opposing crescents, representing the three aspects of the Moon Goddess. The background of the flooring pattern was redwood, taken from trees toppled in winter storms, not chopped down, Belenus informed them. 

 

The Hall began to fill with people, bringing food, drink, and musical instruments, including electric guitars. 

“We have a small turbine set in the rapids of the stream, and a wind turbine,” Belenus explained. “I take a certain amount of pride in them because I built them. We're off the grid, as independent as possible, but we want some modern conveniences.” 

 

Takeshi picked up a Les Paul and began to strum it, After enough hashish and fermented berry cider, he was convinced to play the rhythm tracks, and sing. 

“You had the best voice of all of us, Toby,” Takeshi said. 

Eileen danced the night away, leading the tribe. 

They decided to stay for a week, and meet 'the children' at the train station when they came back on the weekend.

 

Eli and the Friends went to see Rory Saturday night. It was crowded backstage, so they just waved and went to secure their seats. They didn't want to stick around after the concert, so Eli left a rose with a note saying they'd be back next week, with Eileen, Tobias, Emerald, and Takeshi. Eleutheria noted Eli had her usual starstruck, dazed and confused look when she stared at Rory. Severus was aware of her infatuation. He knew she could not, would not, become involved with a Muggle, just look at his parents, treated as pariahs by wizardry. Life wasn't fair.

 

He leaned back and slouched in his chair, watching Eli's face. He realized he felt, what, jealous? Not like how he felt about Potter, he liked Rory, if he did lose Eli to him . . . wait, no, stop that train of thought, just because he had those dreams about her, that didn't mean anything, did it? And maybe the reason he still loathed Lupin was because of the crush he'd had on Eli? Sometimes it was almost impossible to be near her, how could she not know how he felt? 

 

They walked the streets of San Francisco and got on the 38 Geary, outbound to Point Lobos, The November wind was cold, blowing off the ocean, bringing the sounds of the ships, the foghorns, and the crash of the waves. They stopped at the Statue of Diana and left flowers and a lit candle at the base. Eleutheria showed them the tunnels connecting the house with the Presidio underground network, and had an exit on a small beach on a hidden cove, “all the cliff houses, around here and Sea Cliff, Baker's Beach, were used for smuggling things over the years,” 

 

A fire was lit in the fireplace, as the friends settled in for the night. Morrigan immediately settled down next to Eli on the hearth rug, Alice next to her Manx, and Severus on Eli's right side. Vivienne and Eleutheria went to the kitchen to get some food and drink.

“What is wrong with that boy? Doesn't he know how she feels? Doesn't he know she can't make the first move?”

“What about her crush on Rory?”

“I asked her about him, she said that it wouldn't work for so many reasons, not the least of which is the fact that he's got a huge crush on her older sister, and she just couldn't compete with that.”

“Who could? She's a tough act to follow.”

“Yeah, Eli's gorgeous, but Jeanne-Marie … like her mother.” 

“How's your sister?”

“Rafaela just got back from Prague, she wanted some experience and training from their specialists, you know they wer working on treatments and maybe even a cure for lycanthropy? St Mungos dumped all the case files of the werewolves, possessed, and spellbound on her, they don't really cure anyone, she says.”

“So I hear. That's one of the reasons my parents relocated here. We've got the coastal region, to the top of the Sierras, all the islands, across the ocean. As far from the Ministry as possible. You know my parents met at Hogswart when there were things going on the Ministry didn't want to talk about, so of course they all found out. Traced back to one student, one of Dumbeldore's little pets, dug him out of an orphanage, there were deaths, unexplained tragedies, even the Muggle authorities were involved and had to be mind altered. So when they graduated they went with some friends on an extended world tour. My parents decided to stay on Mt Shasta, funny thing is none of them returned to Britain.”

“It always goes back to the same people, I think. Always a Malfoy, Black, that crowd. Funny thing is how no one will talk about Tom Riddle's school days. You can't even look up the records for his years there. 

 

The conversation switched to the way music was changing, how the overblown, “corporate” arena rockers were falling out of favor, how the “disco” fad started in gay nightclubs made the audience the star, the labeling of bands to fit an image, and the utter contempt that the 'punk rockers' showed to the music business. 

“Their intentions are good, but they can't play . . . it offends the ears,” Alice said. “London is getting so savage, anyway. Not much good music, but I do love Joe Jackson, some of those Stiff Record acts are pretty good.” 

“Yeah, back to the clubs, I guess. The SF Scene is over, just like the Diggers, reminds me of how Hawaii was formed, the earth moves over a hot spot.”

 

Eli sighed. “They always kill the mojo by trying to control it. I mean, look what happened to Elvis. Dead before his time. Bloated, blocked up, died trying to take a shit. The Bitch Goddess Celebrity always destroys those she favors.”

 

Severus thought back to how his father had reacted to Elvis's death. “He was the one who made it all popular, love him or hate him, he was the King. He trusted the wrong people, it happens.” 

 

Tobias didn't want to join in the jam onstage, he said his fingers just weren't up to the task.

“Sing, then,” Takeshi said. “You always had the best voice and you arranged the vocals.”

They all sang, played, and danced all night. Eileen remembered her moves, and led the dancers, until the dawn came. 

Belenus agreed to join Tobias and Eileen back to San Francisco, to file the legal paperwork at the Hibernian Bank, to get the money owed him from the re-release of the old recordings. Takeshi and Emerald were going to Torayama to handle some of the diplomatic paperwork that had to be delivered. The Ministry was getting more involved in the internal battle, the sub rosa power struggle Riddle, his minions and sycophants were getting bolder. The Ring of Fire Authorities as well as the Guardians took notice of this and enforced neutrality. With extreme prejudice. 

 

The trio of old friends and comrades got on the Starlight to San Francisco. They had time to get caught up with personal histories. “I'm glad you two are still together,” Belenus told them as they watched the Pacific Ocean. 

Tobias and Eileen both had the same expression, mixed exasperation and melancholy. 

Tobias opened the briefcase and took out a packet of documents. 

“This is a letter from Neville's family, they want you to have his share of the money from the recordings. I tried to find your family … but the only ones left still don't want anything to do with you.”

Belenus shook his head. “My mum knew, didn't matter to her, but my family . . . when I came out they literally crossed my name out of the family bible.” 

“There's nothing left there, the old town, all the factories are gone, I never should have gone back . . .” Tobias frowned. “I dunno, London's gotten so ugly, I think you had the right idea, come here, change your name, and start over, create your own family, your own community. I'm the last of the Snapes, those who didn't die in prison moved away, didn't leave forwarding addresses. My son will escape . . . you'll like him, I never really understood him, he's his mother's son.”

Belenus turned to Eileen. “Tell me about him.” 

She reached in her purse and took out a picture, of Severus with Eli and the Friends. 

“That's Taleshi's daughter, looks so much like him, doesn't she? Severus is the top scholar in his class, took two out of three top awards last year, he's in the honors level and doing independent research.” 

“He got my looks and her brains,” Tobias murmured. “Probably better than the other way round,”

Belenus punched Tobias in the shoulder. “I missed her a lot more than I missed you, Snape.”

“Remember when we used to talk about the place we'd build to play in, on the West Coast, only none of us could decide where on the West Coast.” 

“The Blind Pig,” Eileen said, gazing out the window at the ocean as the train raced south through the night. “I remember.”


	17. Chapter 17

Note: from http://roryon.com/time.html   
Nov / Dec 77    San Francisco    USA    Sunset Marquis Hotel    Six-week stay          
Dec 1977    San Francisco    USA        Rory has a small accident and          
                breaks his thump          
Dec 1977    San Francisco    USA    His Masters Wheels Studio        Photo Finish (1st trial)      
0/0/1978        -            GM Mike Batt: Tarot Suite      
0/0/1978        -            GM Lonnie Donegan:      
                    Putting On The Style     

Rory did in fact play November and December in San Francisco. This was a little while before I made the move here, I was still in St Paul, playing in some rock and roll bands, my own brush with glory. My late brother Alan and late sister Suzanne were here, and both were Rory fans so I'd like to think they got to see him. 

If you don't know who Rory Gallagher was, he's just the best guitar player of the rock era. Case closed. He was humble, didn't play the Rock Star act, he just played his heart out for his fans. 

 

Witches in America and especially those on the Ring of Fire tended to hide in plain sight, and relied on the self imposed blind spots of those who can't or won't believe in magic. It wasn't a problem to invite Rory, Donal, and the band members to their cottage; after all, unless they could see past the “hex” on the gate, they couldn't enter unescorted. Ignatius Jones explained how they worked, it was taught to one of the original group of witches who'd settle the place by a shaman. 

The week passed quickly for Eli and her friends at school. They spent a lot of time in the library room, collectively getting as much classwork done ahead of time so they could take more time off to go to San Francisco. 

Eli had some difficulty concentrating; she'd been daydreaming of lips. Specifically, Rory's and Serverus's lips. Her awareness that this was a part of her brain wobbling about due to the hormones being released didn't make it easier to deal with. 

She'd kissed Rory and loved his lips, like a Botticelli angel's, a rosebud of a mouth, so soft as he kissed and nibbled on her on that night ride. And his voice, with that sweet Irish accent, like a song, whispering in her ear. 

Severus had a wider mouth, his artfully shaped upper lip like a recurved bow, the corners turned up, the shorter lower lip fuller, and the voice that came out between those lips made her melt. She had to consciously stop herself from staring at his mouth all the time. 

But she couldn't choose Severus, or Rory. They would have to choose her. Those were the rules. She knew that allowing Rory into her life that intimately would not work for him, he was doing what he needed to be doing, and how could she take him away from his fans? 

He really wanted Jeanne-Marie anyway. Who wouldn't?

She wished she could just transport herself to five years down the road when all this adolescence confusion was over., but she knew it was necessary. Ordeals were a good way of learned about yourself, your strength and weaknesses. That which does not kill you makes you stronger. 

 

Emerald and Takeshi decided to throw a party for Rory, inviting some of their friends from Faerie who were fans of his. Rory had hinted he'd like to see the entire family, He was thrilled to meet some of his guitar heroes, and wanted to observe Eli and Severus a bit more closely. He'd give the kid a break and back off, but if there wasn't anything between them, well, he'd see. Eli was still too young. She was the sort if you got involved, she would own you, and how could that work with his life? 

 

Still . . . if there was a woman for him, it would be one of Takeshi's daughters. Since he couldn't have Emerald; he remembered seeing her when he was just getting started. 

The last time he'd seen Jeanne-Marie, backstage at a concert, he overheard her talking to the wife of the promoter, who had wondered why a woman that beautiful wasn't married, which caused Jeanne-Marie to give the older woman a look of mingled scorn and pity. She informed her that she was teaching, researching and writing textbooks, had no time for marriage, no interest in children, and didn't much care for answering personal questions. 

 

Sometimes Jeanne-Marie was with a tall, blond man, who looked like a Norse god, Balder, the Beautiful, to be specific. He was also some kind of upper level academic. They were perfect together. Totally compatible.

 

With a woman like that, it had to be all or nothing. He knew he couldn't share in her world. She was his Muse, and it's best not to touch them. 

 

Takeshi set up the main room of the house with instruments, he knew that Rory would want to play, even though he was working in the studio and playing live gigs. Rory was a phenomena, he was the greatest Bard in the realm. The guests from Faerie was all Bards who followed him when he played near one of the gateways. They all wanted to play for him, to have him validate their talent. 

Asimov was doubly thrilled, since Vivienne would be there. 

 

Alice and Eleutheria were amused at the undercurrents of emotions flowing; this would be an interesting party. 

 

The adults arrived at the cottage after picking up Rory and his company. Ignatius opened the plain wooden garage door, surrounded by a lush growth of purple bougainvillea. There was a stone path made of the native rock, with a fountain in the middle of a herb garden, the aromas drifting through the air. Jasmine dripped over the entryway. Rory was enchanted. Gerry was worried. 

 

Rory went to sit next to Eleutheria on a window seat facing west. 

“Can I ask you something?”

She nodded. “I don't want you to tell me anything I don't need to know, but, are Eli and Severus a little more than friends?” 

Eleutheria laughed. “If you ask me they should be.”

He laughed with her. “You know I thought they were brothers and sisters the night I met all of you.” 

“Yeah, the night she melted into a puddle of goo, how could I ever forget?”

“It's one of the occupational hazards in my line of work, pretty girls falling in love with me.” 

“She thinks you really want her sister.” 

He flushed slightly, looked away and took a long drink. “This is great stuff, mead, and you make it up on your farm?” 

She raised one eyebrow. 

“OK, yeah, I'm interested, but the life I lead . . . there's not a lot of room for girls in it. She'd never want to be the one who stays at home with the kids, and she's just not the usual rock girlfriend..” He sighed. “And she's still a bit young. I saw the look on his face when I sang to her, and I don't want to cause him any pain, I like him.” He took a deep breath. “But if there's nothing between them, sure, I'd like to make a move at some point. When she's ready. If she wants the real me, and is over her crush. I know what it's like at your age.” 

“You were already onstage at my age. Already a professional. You knew what you wanted, Rory, and you've got it.”

“I know how fortunate I am to be doing this . . . and I know, some sacrifices must be made when you choose your life path. I have to do what I'm doing, I love it, but sometimes . . .”

“You wonder what it would be like, yeah, I know. Me, my friends here, we're all trying to figure out where we're going and how to get there. Hoping we make the right choices.” 

 

Eli and Severus came out of the kitchen with plates of pastries, blackberry tarts, cannabis loaded Madeline cookies, lavender shortcakes with candied violets, and chocolate mousse. They passed the treats to the guests, and Rory said, “Notice how they are always in sync, like dancers?”

“Yeah, well, Eileen was a dancer, quite good, you know. It's like something Margot Fonteyn said about dancing with Rudolf Nureyev, how they naturally just perfectly shadowed the other's movements, from the tilt of the head to the angle of their legs, I know, I saw them dance together once, at the Opera House, oh, it was magical.” 

Rory sighed deeply. You had to live the blues to sing the blues. 

 

When Eli and Severus got to the window seat where Rory and Eleutheria were sitting, Eli handed her plate to Severus and went to fetch a bottle of mead to refill Rory's glass.

 

Eli set the bottle down, took both plates from Severus and brought them back to the kitchen. She brought back some glasses and they all drank the mead. 

 

Severus bit his lip. He wasn't jealous, not really, of Rory, who was a nice fellow. If Eli wanted him, well, he would understand. He was special, a most precious being. 

Rory spoke up. “It's so nice to see your parents. I tried to tell your father how much I idolized him, he cut me off. It must have been hard for him . . . and your mother, she was so magical when she danced. She wouldn't let me talk about that, either. I just wanted you to know how much I admired both of them.” 

“Sometimes, dreams die hard,” Severus said.

Rory looked into Serverus's eyes, saying softly, “So very true. Do you play anything?”

“No,” Severus replied, his brows creasing in a microexpression of pain that Rory noticed. 

 

“I think I'd like to go jam with them,” Rory said, indicating the group of musicians playing. Asimov and Belenus were drumming, Takeshi was playing guitar, Gerry was sitting in on bass. Various bards were sitting in, it was one of those nights, where magic happens because of the music. 

Eli and Severus were propped up with pillows next to the fireplace, rarely used because its main function was for flooing back and forth from Shasta. The home had a form of central heating.

The actual building extended from shore level, opening out to a small, enclosed beach. There was a water system, installed by Adolph Sutro himself, using the springs that were there. There was a furnace that heated all of the chambers, that were cut into the living rock of the cliff face, three of them stacked on top of each other, with a helix shaped double stairway in the rear and steps carved into the rockface up the cliffside These chambers were good sized rooms, and had been used to store contraband and hide people from their attackers. San Francisco was a hard town, a corrupt place, full of grifters and pimps. That's why the first group of witches befriended Sutro and his family. 

[note: Adoph Sutro is my all time favorite San Franciscan. He and I have the same birthday, and I love Sutro Heights Park. If you've ever seen the movie, Harold and Maude, many scenes were filmed there http://www.americanjerusalem.com/characters/adolph-sutro-1830-ae-1898/19]

 

He sold the witches the land, helped them build their base. Since that time, the house was shared by the Shasta witches, with one witch in charge of the place. Anaisa Jones was the “landlady” and she was happy to see her daughter having so much fun. They kept two horses at the Polo Field in Golden Gate Park, got season tickets to the opera, ballet, and Giants games. 

Severus and Vivienne were fascinated by the place and its history, including the witches who had tried their best to help the good people deal with their lessors. 

 

In the early morning hours, Donal Gallagher rounded up all his people, and Anaisa volunteered to drive them back to theie hotel. in the VW van. Rory stopped to say goodbye to Eli and her friends, reminding them that he'd get them seats for the next performance.

' 'Do you remember your lessons?” Rory said. She smiled and nodded. “I hope you get to put them into practice soon,” he said, winking at her.


	18. The Mourning Moon 1977

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://www.bustle.com/p/what-is-the-november-full-moon-called-it-goes-by-many-names-3207313  
> The Mourning Moon, on the other hand, is rooted in Pagan tradition. People who practice Pagan rituals spend the fall months preparing for the winter. The final step in that process is the letting go — and mourning — of old things that aren't expected to be helpful in the new year. Even those of us not familiar with Pagan tradition can appreciate this season as a time of reflection and letting go. Right before the chaos of the holidays sets in, we can take our cue from the Nov. 4 full moon and begin thinking back on 2017 and deciding which habits, goals, and people might best be left behind in the name of a happier 2018.

Ignatius Jones waited for Anaisa to return, then went to the floo, instructing their daughter and her friends to clean the place up, they'd be back at the farm. 

 

Eluetheria told her friends, “I'm going to get everyone who is staying settled in for the night, and get our room ready.” She had claimed her favorite room, the lowest cave chamber for them. 

“I like being near the ocean, I can feel the power as the waves come in,” she said. Eileen and Tobias, being the eldest, thus highest ranked, were in the loft room, with a bay window overlooking the Pacific. Tobias joined Eileen sitting in the window seat, watching the moon shining down.

“I remember reading something about how that silver reflection on the water is the path Diana's chariot takes,” he said. “Pulled by her golden hinds.” She nodded. “Belenus asked me if I could help him with a building project, for one of Severus's teachers, she's opening a place over near the Haight, we're going to rebuild the interior, put in some shelves. So she can open up as soon as she gets done with the term.”

“Our son turned out well, didn't he?” Eileen said. 

“Yes, he did. No thanks to his dad.” 

 

Some of the party guests floo'd back to their homes. Most of the Bards were sticking around and attending as many of Rory's performances as they could. Since all of the available bedding was being used by guests, Eleutheria and her friends were making do with “cocoons,” which were basically covered hammocks made of colorful woven fine wool lining a hemp mesh, used for camping in the woods. They could be connected to make double cocoons. The ground floor was always the coolest, even with the central, forced air heating system. 

 

Eli and Severus got the kitchen cleaned quickly and helped the others tidy up the main room. They went down to the ground floor, where Asimov took Vivienne by the hand, telling her he'd set up their cocoons outside, so they could watch the moon in private.

 

Vivienne lit a fire in the fireplace, using a Faerie crystal, set in the infra red spectrum. They got into their cocoons and soon fell asleep. 

 

The next day they were woken in the afternoon by Eileen, who brought them coffee and fresh scones, warm from the oven. She set the tray on a trestle table on the rear wall, in front of the stairwell. Alice and her Morrigan were the first up. Morrigan by now was used to world travel, in her Hermes bag. She was a quiet cat, with soft mews, a loud purr, and a trilling vocalization when she was specially pleased. 

The resident cats introduced themselves and showed her the cat spaces in the domicile. Eileen handed her a dish of Dungeness crab, which she shared with her new friends. 

 

Eli grabbed some coffee and nibbled the blackberry scones. “I made them with the canned blackberries in the pantry.”

“I picked a lot of them,” Eleutheria said. “I like how the juice turns them purple.” 

“It's my favorite color,” Eli said.

“Your parents portkeyed to Torayama,” Eileens said. “Tobias and Belanus are going to get Uma's place ready, so we'll be staying here until that's done.” 

 

Vivienne and Asimov sauntered in. She sat next to Severus on a bench next to the fireplace. “Oh, a Faerie's eyes in the moonlight,” she sighed. 

“I know,” Severus said softly. “The aurora borealis shining, with colors you've never seen before.” 

Vivienne looked him, rolled her eyes, shook her head, and went over to get to get coffee. 

 

Eleutheria and Alice decided to go riding in Golden Gate Park, and they said they'd meet the others tonight at the Hotel. Eileen asked Severus and Eli to help her in the kitchen doing some cooking. The house would be full of guests throughout November and December, from Mount Shasta and Avalon, fans of Rory Gallagher and good Italian food in North Beach. 

 

Vivienne and Asimov took cameras to explore The City, and would meet everyone at the performance. They were going to walk along the cliffs overlooking the ocean, then bypass The Presidio, then trace the faint traces of the built over ley lines, eat at Hamburger Mary's and get to the venue in time. 

 

Eileen decided on roast chickens with rosemary, mashed potatoes, greenhouse salad, and freshly baked bread. They were making a lot of food, for the various friends and family. Asimov brought two Bard friends, Martin and Robin, who loved Rory. 

Severus baked spongecake and prepared a blackberry trifle for dessert, Tobias's favorite. 

His father loved it here. He was being useful, working on Uma's place, he was reunited with his oldest friend, lost for so long. Belenus was always a genius at carpentry and woodworking, but he'd never let Tobias do anything that might hurt his hands.

“I'm a drummer, it doesn't matter as long as I can hold my sticks, and when I drum with my hands, I need tough, calloused hands. Guitar players are like violinists, you must never risk your hands.” 

They talked about the first tour The Blind Pig Blues Band had on the West Coast, from Vancouver to San Francisco. They didn't want to go further south. Takeshi hated Southern California. 

“Vancouver was my favorite city,” Tobias mentioned. “Still is, Eileen and I took the train north, got out and explored. You can still walk it, it feels like San Francisco did back when.”

“London felt welcoming only when you're rich or on top,” Eileen mused. “I never really felt secure there.”

Tobias nodded. “It's easier to get paperwork to move to Canada,” he said. 

 

Severus, Eli, Martin and Robin left for the show.

They walked to Point Lobos, got on the 38 Geary and went downtown, arriving in time to get to their seats, and as usual, it was a great performance. Severus couldn't dislike Rory, he admired the Irish guitar player too much, he put his soul out for all to see every time he got onstage. OK, there it was. He was jealous of Eli's infatuation with him. 

He'd never let himself believe Eli was available to him, he was afraid of destroying their friendship. He was afraid she'd be disappointed with him, he wouldn't be able to perform up to standard, he'd do something terribly wrong. He'd blown it with Lily, he wasn't sure how, her family hated him, the Gryffindors persecuted him for trying to maintain a friendship with her . . . was that what he wanted? Just her friendship? 

He wanted both Lily and Eli. That sort of arrangement might be acceptable in some places, but he wouldn't want to share either of them. If only they were both bisexuals. He blushed at the thought as it crossed his mind. But Eli, could he risk her friendship? 

All the years where she and her friends accepted him as an equal, let him share their space, sleeping in the same room, in perfect trust. He didn't want to lose that. George liked to tease him about his 'harem' and openly admitted he was envious, but his mother would never allow him to go to “that Morgan woman's Farm” and she would know. Mother always did, George said. Mother was just angry she had never been invited to the Farm herself. 

 

One thing he was sure of, he would have to make it perfect, he'd have to wait for the right time. Timing was everything. He would wait for his opportunity. It was inevitable. He knew that when he drank her blood tear on that day. 

 

Anaisa Jones was waiting for them in the VW bus, since it was a school night. They had oral exams based on their projects for the semester, the written portions would be due in two weeks. They 'keyed to the Shasta Avalon gateway, thence to the Farm, where they gathered their books, notes, and practiced answering questions about the lectures and reading assignments. 

 

Eli spent her mornings tutoring in Runes, considered to be one of the most difficult topics. Horace was pleased with the potions projects they'd completed, with notes and even pictures. Vivienne's photography and cinematography was advanced beyond her years; Xeno Lovegood was impressed. 

“You should give her a job when she graduates,” Cordelia told him one day when he and Pandora were visiting. “She's adamantly opposed to working for the Prophet.”

“Only as a foreign correspondent; I already talked to her and she says she wants to travel, maybe never settle down.”

Pandora added, “She seems to be quite fond of Eli's cousin, what's his name, the drummer.”

“Asimov. He's with them, they are visiting San Francisco, to see Rory Gallagher play. Uma, the DADA professor, is setting up a place there, did you know that?” 

“Yes, I've had a chance to speak to her a few times, she's fascinating. Doesn't like it here, the politics, all that Ministry codswallop, she's too much an American witch to tolerate it. How's her book coming?”

“Why don't you two stay here tonight, she'll be back after dinner.”

“I was hoping she'd sell me rights to serialize it in the Quibbler.”

Cordelia laughed. “You won't be able to use the chapter about the Dementors, based on what happened here.”

Xeno shuddered. “That was just about the worst experience of my life.”

“Served you right, for not telling me about it,” Pandora smirked. 

“There were so many of them . . . I know what is meant by staring into the abyss and having it stare back . . .”

Cordelia looked sad. “Can you imagine what it is like for prisoners? At least my poor Gellert is spared their guardianship, he's just completely alone, isolated from all contact. I don't know which fate is worse.”

“At the risk being openly treasonous,” Pandora said, “It seems to me that the Ministry is losing control, they can't keep their lies straight.”

“You've always been a heretic, preaching mutiny and sedition, promoting that which the Ministry deems unfit for everyone but themselves. And that's why I love you so much,” Xeno chortled. “Still, the good thing about the whole dementor attack was it got the Ministry to back off from the Farm and sign the treaties.” 

Cordelia smiled. “Yes, Athena Addington was amused, to put it mildly, they had no idea what they agreed to. Oh well, not my part to enlighten them.”

“We've got copies of everything if they try to weasel out of the treaties, the Druids covered all the bases.” Pandora laughed. 

 

Cordelia poured out some aquavit. “Tom Riddle is trying to return. Calls himself 'Lord Voldemort' of all things.”

Xeno's eyebrows shot up. “Not that one, I remember . . . he'd left right before I got there, disappeared into the Balkans during the War, working both sides of the conflicts . . . and weren't the Muggle authorities after him for a series of murders?” 

Cordelia nodded. “He'd been Albus and Horace's little pet . . . a vile creature, animals hated him. Takeshi was a Slytherin, you know, and none of the senior students were allowed to mention him to ANYONE. So we did some digging. Claims to the the heir of Salazar Slytherin, yet his family . . . you don't want to look too closely, it's pretty horrible.” 

Xeno drank the liquor, and looked at Pandora. “That would explain your dreams,” he said softly. She nodded. “He's getting support from the old inbreds, you know, the usual suspects, the Blacks, Malfoys . . .” 

“Another power struggle,” Cordelia sighed. “I wish Gellert were here, he could handle anyone, they locked him away and Riddle rounded up his former supporters.”

“I never believed the stories about him.”

“Nor did I.” 

“I wish I could interview him and get his side of what happened between him and his old pal Albus.”

Cordelia poured out a double shot, downed it, and said, “Albus was true to form, he turned on his friend, sold him out. He knew he couldn't beat Gellert in a fair fight, and insisted it was 'the greater good' to bushwhack him. As if the ends could justify the means.” 

“or if they could handle the truth,” Pandora said.

 

 

Note: Until I get around to adding more to this time period, the story picks up in the Yule 1977 section.


End file.
